IBB university begins production of cashew juice .

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida(IBB) University, Lapai in Niger State has commenced production of Cashew Juice. The university ventured into production because of the abundance of fruit there and during the harvest season about 60 percent of the fruit gets rotten and waste away. The university decided to curb waste by production which is handled by the Department of Food Science and Technology. Prof. Mohammed Yakubu, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the institution,added that the university plans to commercialize the cashew juice through markets in Abuja, Minna, Kano, Kogi and Nasarawa. The deputy vice chancellor believed that the initiative would raise the university’s revenue, and help engage youths in the juice processing. see Enter the millionaire league with cashew nut see

Birth Attendants who cut the Umbilical Cord with Broken Bottles .

According to the National Demographic Health Survey, 2008, Ondo state had a maternal mortality ratio of 742 per 100,000 live births with worse indices at the facility level. Nigeria records one of the world’s highest rates of maternal deaths, with the country being the largest contributor of maternal deaths globally and second largest of under – five deaths with India being the first. Most families especially those in rural communities – characteristically uneducated and economically disadvantaged - are at the mercies of spiritualists, and unskilled traditional birth attendants that they consult to deliver their babies. “We trust the outcome will be divine, we never trusted government hospitals” explains 60 year- old Taye Idowu in Yoruba. Taye is part of a corp of maternal health evangelists, mostly reformed traditional birth healers under the Ondo state government's 'Agbebiye' programme – an incentive based referral programme. The TBAs are encouraged to refer their ‘patients’ to the orthodox clinics and earn money. She and others in the 18 local governments of Ondo State are part of the Agbebiye Initiative – a community – based approach and a primary health care model aimed to further improve community ownership to reduce maternal health to zero. Taye and her colleagues were part of the trade of traditional birth healers they use broken bottles to cut the umbilical cord immediately the women deliver their babies, some get home and die from infection. more

Forty households gets 4 goats, 4 sheep to improve economic status .

The Fadama lll additional financing project in Yobe has distributed goats, sheep's and assorted food items to 40 households affected by Boko haram insurgency in Malam Mattari village, Yobe State. The state Fadama lll coordinator, Musa A. Garba, said after launching the distribution that every household received a set of three sheep and a ram or three female goats and a male goat to improve their economic status. The 40 benefiting households were provided with an option goats and sheep for animal husbandry, while assorted grains, oil and condiments are for food support .The coordinator said that a total of 5,320 households in 20 communities from 14 local government areas in the state would benefit from the programme. Alhaji Mustapha Gajerema, Yobe commissioner for agriculture who flagged off the distribution described as a way of supporting the insurgency victims to improve their livelihoods He said the state government was quick to settled its N20 million counterpart fund to benefit from the N274 million World Bank grant, so as improve the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. see

Cattle tracking to curb rustling in Nigeria.

The FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello has asked the National Implementation Committee for the Curtailment of Cattle Rustling in Nigeria to evolve mechanism to track all cattle coming from neighbouring countries. The Minister stated this while receiving members of the committee led by its chairman, AIG Charles Ugomuoh yesterday in Abuja. Bello said all such cattle could be tracked from the border thereby reducing friction often generated by their activities in the hinterland, which can also be used for statistical purposes. He said: "It would be a good idea for your committee to set up a robust mechanism to track all those coming across the border even for statistical purposes." continue

Taurine and cat health.

Felines have a greater need for taurine in the diet than other animals and deficiencies take a long time to be obvious and thus cause significant damage to a cat’s health. Cats fed a nutritionally balanced, fresh meat-based diet won’t need supplemental taurine,hence make sure balanced diets are presented. Home made cat diets should be supplemented with taurine, and all commercial cat foods should be checked and ensure it contains supplemental taurine. carnivores (cats) aren't able to synthesize all the taurine their bodies need from the dietary amino acids methionine and cysteine,unlike herbivores and omnivores that can synthesize all they need. Kitties can only conjugate bile acids with taurine thus they need taurine supplement with every meal. A low rate of taurine synthesis plus a loss of taurine in bile means kitties have an increased dietary requirement for taurine. Deficiencies will cause central retinal degeneration, disturbed reproduction and fetal development and heart cardiomyopathy. Taurine is an amino acid found primarily in muscle meat, especially dark meat, and organs like the heart, kidneys and liver, as well as seafood, including shellfish. It's also found in small amounts in dairy products, including eggs. Plants contain little to no detectable amounts of taurine. The way the meal is presented affects concentration of taurine available for the cats in the finished product. The highest concentrations are found in raw meat, then frying with juices retained, frying without retaining the juices, baking and finally, boiling. Home cooking for cats should consider this, cook the meat lightly, and retain all the liquids from the meat. The higher the temperature, the more taurine lost, so make sure to keep cooking temperatures low.

Agri-tech company kicks off poultry waste to energy project

Agri-tech company kicks off poultry waste to energy project: Irish agri-tech company BHSL has launched a $3m pilot project in the US state of Maryland, aimed at reducing the environmental challenges of the region’s poultry industry.

How service animals help People with needs.

Some people with disabilities rely on trained service animals to assist them in everyday life. The roles of the service animal include but not limited to the following. A service animal is usually a dog that is specifically trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. Service animals perform some of the things that the individual with a disability cannot perform for himself or herself. The most familiar type of service animal is a dog who assists some people who are blind, diabetic patients, sick children, depressed and people struggling with PTSD. Service animals are trained to assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Service animals can help people with a variety of needs. Dogs may be trained to:I)Alert someone with diabetes when blood sugar reaches high or low levels. 2)Remind someone to take his or her medication. 3)Detect the onset of a seizure and help the person remain safe. 4) Alert people with hearing impairments to sounds such as doorbells. 5) pick up items for people with mobility impairments. 6) cleaning up in the home.