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Coccidiosis, caused by Eimeria species parasites, has long been recognised as an economically significant disease of chickens. As the global chicken population continues to grow, and its contribution to food security intensifies, it is increasingly important to assess the impact of diseases that compromise chicken productivity and welfare. In 1999, Williams published one of the most comprehensive estimates for the cost of coccidiosis in chickens, featuring a compartmentalised model for the costs of prophylaxis, treatment and losses, indicating a total cost in excess of £38 million in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1995. In the 25 years since this analysis the global chicken population has doubled and systems of chicken meat and egg production have advanced through improved nutrition, husbandry and selective breeding of chickens, and wider use of anticoccidial vaccines. Using data from industry representatives including veterinarians, farmers, production and health experts, we have updated the Williams model and estimate that coccidiosis in chickens cost the UK £99.2 million in 2016 (range £73.0–£125.5 million). Applying the model to data from Brazil, Egypt, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Nigeria and the United States resulted in estimates that, when extrapolated by geographical region, indicate a global cost of ~ £10.4 billion at 2016 prices (£7.7–£13.0 billion), equivalent to £0.16/chicken produced. Understanding the economic costs of livestock diseases can be advantageous, providing baselines to evaluate the impact of different husbandry systems and interventions. The updated cost of coccidiosis in chickens will inform debates on the value of chemoprophylaxis and development of novel anticoccidial vaccines.

Sixty billion chickens are produced worldwide each year, and all are at risk from Eimeria , parasites that cause coccidiosis. Control relies widely on chemoprophylaxis, but pressure to reduce drug use in farming urges development of cost-effective vaccines. Antigens such as apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) offer promise as anticoccidial vaccine candidates, but experience with related apicomplexans such as Plasmodium , in which pre-existing antigenic diversity and incompatible population structure have undermined vaccine development, tempers confidence. Parasite genotyping identified enormous region-specific variation in haplotype diversity for Eimeria tenella but a contrastingly low level of polymorphism for Et AMA1. Although high levels of polyclonal Eimeria infection and hybridization indicate an ability to disseminate vaccine resistance rapidly, the low level of Et AMA1 diversity promotes vaccine development. The phylum Apicomplexa includes serious pathogens of humans and animals. Understanding the distribution and population structure of these protozoan parasites is of fundamental importance to explain disease epidemiology and develop sustainable controls. Predicting the likely efficacy and longevity of subunit vaccines in field populations relies on knowledge of relevant preexisting antigenic diversity, population structure, the likelihood of coinfection by genetically distinct strains, and the efficiency of cross-fertilization. All four of these factors have been investigated for Plasmodium species parasites, revealing both clonal and panmictic population structures with exceptional polymorphism associated with immunoprotective antigens such as apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1). For the coccidian Toxoplasma gondii only genomic diversity and population structure have been defined in depth so far; for the closely related Eimeria species, all four variables are currently unknown. Using Eimeria tenella , a major cause of the enteric disease coccidiosis, which exerts a profound effect on chicken productivity and welfare, we determined population structure, genotype distribution, and likelihood of cross-fertilization during coinfection and also investigated the extent of naturally occurring antigenic diversity for the E . tenella AMA1 homolog. Using genome-wide Sequenom SNP-based haplotyping, targeted sequencing, and single-cell genotyping, we show that in this coccidian the functionality of Et AMA1 appears to outweigh immune evasion. This result is in direct contrast to the situation in Plasmodium and most likely is underpinned by the biology of the direct and acute coccidian life cycle in the definitive host.

The phylum Apicomplexa includes serious pathogens of humans and animals. Understanding the distribution and population structure of these protozoan parasites is of fundamental importance to explain disease epidemiology and develop sustainable controls. Predicting the likely efficacy and longevity of subunit vaccines in field populations relies on knowledge of relevant preexisting antigenic diversity, population structure, the likelihood of coinfection by genetically distinct strains, and the efficiency of cross-fertilization. All four of these factors have been investigated forPlasmodiumspecies parasites, revealing both clonal and panmictic population structures with exceptional polymorphism associated with immunoprotective antigens such as apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1). For the coccidianToxoplasma gondiionly genomic diversity and population structure have been defined in depth so far; for the closely relatedEimeriaspecies, all four variables are currently unknown. UsingEimeria tenella, a major cause of the enteric disease coccidiosis, which exerts a profound effect on chicken productivity and welfare, we determined population structure, genotype distribution, and likelihood of cross-fertilization during coinfection and also investigated the extent of naturally occurring antigenic diversity for theE. tenellaAMA1 homolog. Using genome-wide Sequenom SNP-based haplotyping, targeted sequencing, and single-cell genotyping, we show that in this coccidian the functionality ofEtAMA1 appears to outweigh immune evasion. This result is in direct contrast to the situation inPlasmodiumand most likely is underpinned by the biology of the direct and acute coccidian life cycle in the definitive host.

The burning of fossil fuel for power generation emits Greenhouse gases into the environment. Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emission is the principal cause of global warming. In order to regulate the emissions of these gases, the emissions need to be assessed and quantified. Carbon footprint is the evaluation of human activities that lead to GHGs emissions. The Covenant University Electricity Network during periods when utility supply fail runs on diesel powered generators located at different centers within the campus. These generators emit carbon-based compounds into the environment. Assessing the quantity of carbon dioxide which is the principal GHGs emitted per year gives 33.14-tonnes. Analysis of the load profiles in the centers showed that all the eight generators are not supposed to be running simultaneously as it is now. This study developed a new network model where all the generators were integrated into a DC microgrid that ensured resource sharing. The model was simulated using energy management and optimization techniques resulting in reduced micro-generators engagement, Green House Gases emission and fuel consumption. Consequently, carbon dioxide emitted per year dropped to 18.44-tonnes from 33.14-tonnes. The developed model improved the carbon footprint of the campus by as much as 44.3%.

The deregulation of the Nigerian power sector has resulted in the quest to explore power generation options for power quality improvement. One of such options is the pattern shift from central power generation to embedded power generation. Network integration of embedded generators (EGs) causes several regulatory, technical and economic issues. This research focuses on power quality challenges that may arise as a result of network integration of embedded generation in a weak electricity networks using Ogba 33 kV injection substation as case study. The embedded generators considered comprised of gas turbine and diesel generators. NEPLAN software was used to perform the load flow analysis with and without EGs connection on the network. This was necessary so as to ascertain the healthiness of the existing distribution network for EGs integration. The power quality issues considered in the study were bus voltage profiles and the total line losses. Simulation results showed that EGs connection improved the voltage profile, for example, bus voltage at PTC 11 kV, improved from 0.881 pu to 0.958 pu while the total active power loss was reduced by 78.16%. The results obtained suggest that the grid is healthy enough to accommodate the EGs with no quality issues.

With the high rate of economic development, there is an increasing load demand even in rural communities and Obayantor in Nigeria. Obayantor, having zero connection to the primary grid, needs electricity. Following the community located in a tropical rejoin of Nigeria, it has enough solar energy sources.  With the high price of diesel fuel, solar microgrid seems to be the best energy solution for the rural community.    In this study, technical and economic analysis was carried out on the solar-based microgrid and compared with a diesel-only microgrid using MATLAB Software tool. The results show that the solar microgrid is more cost-effective and has a cheaper COE, affordable for the rural community compared with the diesel microgrid, which is more expensive to afford.  The Annual system cost for the solar microgrid was lower compared with the diesel source. The result also revealed that the diesel-alone microgrid system is 4.71 times and 0.2 times more costly than the solar-based microgrid system in terms of the cost of energy and ASC, respectively. Thereby making the diesel microgrid not having technical and economic feasibility for the community.