Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource

Abstract Background Anthrax is a neglected and life-threatening infectious zoonotic disease occurring, especially in Africa. This study was conducted a week before the confirmation of the recent anthrax outbreak in Nigeria on July 2023. It assessed the knowledge, risk practice, and perception of anthrax among the high-risk working groups such as meat processors, butchers, animal farmers, meat vendors, para-veterinarians, veterinarians, cleaners, administrative staff, and animal traders in abattoirs (ABs) and slaughterhouses (SHs) in Nigeria. Also, the national preparedness towards an outbreak was evaluated. Method A total of 627 participants were purposively selected from seven States and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and logistic regression statistics. Results Most 499 (81.4%) of the participants were males, with the mean age being 37.3 ± 12.0 years old and the majority (471, 78.1%) had no tertiary education. One-third (207, 32.7%) of the participants self-reported being aware of anthrax, and 13.2% indicated that anthrax was a serious disease for both animals and humans. The knowledge median score was 0.0 (min 0, max 30), the general knowledge level was poor (16.8%), and 91.2% (527) of participants fell within this category. The practice median score was 6.0 (min 0, max 12) and categorized as generally poor (52.9%). Gaps observed in practices that could promote the risk of participants’ exposure to anthrax included slaughtering sick animals for human consumption, splashing blood on inspected carcasses, carrying carcasses on heads or shoulders, and disposing of condemned animal tissues or organs in open dumps. One-third of participants (202, 32.2%) strongly perceived that efficiently implementing vaccination in livestock would reduce the outbreak in humans. Furthermore, participants with no tertiary qualifications and no veterinary background had increased odds (COR: 14.378, 95% CI; 4.923–41.991, p = 0.000) and (COR: 9.157, 95% CI; 3.644–23.008, p = 0.000) of having inadequate knowledge level of anthrax respectively. Participants who were non-veterinarians/ non-para veterinarians had increased odds (COR: 3.471, 95% CI; 1.629–7.392, p = 0.001) of having poor practice level than veterinarians/para veterinarians. Conversely, participants less than 37 years -old had lower odds (COR: 0.268, 95% CI; 0.148–0.486, p = 0.000) of having poor practice level than those above the age. Conclusion The knowledge level of the high-risk working groups was poor with observable critical risk practices. Promoting media publicity and awareness creation, vaccination, effective disease surveillance, on-farm biosecurity, and adequate border control are critical strategies to prevent anthrax outbreaks in Nigeria.

We present the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-1670, detected in a high-extinction field, very close to the Galactic plane. Due to the dust extinction along the line of sight, this event was too faint to be detected before it reached the peak of magnification. The microlensing light-curve models indicate a high-magnification event with a maximum of $A_\mathrm{max}\gtrsim200$, very sensitive to planetary deviations. An anomaly in the light curve has been densely observed by the microlensing surveys MOA, KMTNet, and OGLE. From the light-curve modeling, we find a planetary anomaly characterized by a planet-to-host mass ratio, $q=\left(1.00^{+0.18}_{-0.16}\right)\times 10^{-4}$, at the peak recently identified in the mass-ratio function of microlensing planets. Thus, this event is interesting to include in future statistical studies about planet demography. We have explored the possible degeneracies and find two competing planetary models resulting from the $s\leftrightarrow1/s$ degeneracy. However, because the projected separation is very close to $s=1$, the physical implications for the planet for the two solutions are quite similar, except for the value of $s$. By combining the light-curve parameters with a Galactic model, we have estimated the planet mass $M_2=17.9^{+9.6}_{-8.8}\,\mathrm{M}_\oplus$ and the lens distance $D_\mathrm{L}=6.7^{+1.0}_{-1.3}\,\mathrm{kpc}$, corresponding to a Neptune-mass planet close to the Galactic bulge. Such events with a low absolute latitude ($|b|\approx 1.1\,\mathrm{deg}$) are subject to both high extinction and more uncertain source distances, two factors that may affect the mass measurements in the provisional Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope fields. More events are needed to investigate the potential trade-off between the higher lensing rate and the difficulty in measuring masses in these low-latitude fields.

Breeding for moisture stress tolerance by conventional methods is not satisfactory in view of current demand to increase crop productivity. Inducing somaclonal variation is a potential technique to obtain stress tolerant variants. The present study was conducted to evaluate the performance of tef somaclones (R1 generation) and their respective parental genotypes for drought tolerance. The materials used in this experiment were obtained from the R0 generation of previous in vitro culture experiment. Twelve seed derived somaclones; Melko 0, Melko 0.5, Melko 1, Melko 1.5, Gemechis 0, Gemechis 0.5, Gemechis 1, Gemechis 1.5, Pop12S20, Pop12S20.5, Pop12S21 and Pop12S21.5 and their respective parental genotypes (Melko, Gemechis and Pop12S2) were used under two set of experiments (i.e., under moisture stress and non-stress conditions) in pots under green house. The experiments were laid out in completely randomized design with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed that somaclones (R1 generation) and their parental genotypes showed highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) difference in all the measured traits under both moisture regimes. Comparisons were made between the somaclones and their parents under moisture stress and non-stress conditions for the measured traits. Under moisture stress condition superiority of the somaclones was observed except for number of spikelet/panicle and total number of tiller/plant. On the other hand, under non-stress condition better performance was observed from parental genotypes for number of spikelet/ panicle, panicle weight, panicle seed weight, plant weight, plant seed weight and grain yield. The results showed that all the somaclones and their parental genotypes were negatively affected by moisture stress for all studied parameters. However, somaclones were less affected by moisture stress as compared to the parental genotypes. Hence, in vitro culture induced somaclonal variation can effectively be used for selection and improvement of drought tolerant tef genotypes.

Abstract Microlensing has proven to be a valuable tool to search for extrasolar planets of Jovian- to Super-Earth-mass planets at orbits of a few AU. Since planetary signals are of very short duration, an intense and continuous monitoring is required. This is achieved by ground-based networks of telescopes (PLANET/RoboNET, μFUN) following up targets, which are identified as microlensing events by single dedicated telescopes (OGLE, MOA). Microlensing has led to four already published detections of extrasolar planets, one of them being OGLE 2005-BLG-390Lb, a planet of only ∼5.5M⊕orbiting its M-dwarf host star at ∼2.6 AU. Very recent observations (May–September 2007) provided four more planetary candidates, still under study, that will double the number of detections. For non-planetary microlensing events observed from 1995 to 2006 we compute detection efficiency diagrams, which can then be used to derive an estimate of the Galactic abundance of cool planets in the mass regime from Jupiters to Sub-Neptunes.

Hybridization between Iberis amara varieties and I. pectinata was successful only when I. pectinata was the female parent. The seeds recovered from such crosses were much smaller than the control seeds from parents. The F1 hybrids were sterile but showed hybrid vigour and were morphologically intermediate between the two parents except in siliqua shape where the F1 hybrid resembled the maternal parent more closely.Very few seeds classified as small and large were obtained from F1 hybrid plants. The small seeds gave an F2 segregation of plants that resembled the parental and F1 hybrid types. Those F2 plants from large seeds were vigorous and fertile, and proved to be allotetraploids.Abundant seeds of three grades, small, intermediate, and large, were set by colchicine treated F1 hybrids. The C2 plants from small seeds showed a similar segregation as F2 plants from small seeds. Those from intermediate sized seeds were morphologically intermediate but varied considerably towards the I. amara parent. The C2 plants from large seeds were allotetraploids and were morphologically intermediates like F1 hybrids. They were vigorous and fertile. The allotetraploids were genetically isolated from the I. amara parent but not from I. pectinata.Cytological investigations in the parents, F1 and C1 populations revealed that the sterility of the F1 hybrids was largely of a chromosomal type and that the C1 plants were mixoploids. Although C1 plants produced triploid and tetraploid gametes, hexaploid and octoploid plants were not found in C2 populations.