Science World Journal

The role of antimony in tailoring optical properties of spray pyrolysis synthesized pbse/sb thin films for solar device optimization

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, we employed the Spray Pyrolysis Technique to grow thin solid films of both Antimony-doped and undoped PbSe/Sb on glass substrates. The film growth process relied on the decomposition of lead chloride (PbCl2) and Antimony chloride in the presence of Sodium selenosulphide (Na2SeSo3). Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) was utilized as a complexing agent and pH stabilizer. The determination of the films' band gaps was conducted through absorbance and transmittance measurements using a Unico-UV-2102 PC spectrophotometer, employing normal incident light in the wavelength range of 200-1500 nm. Upon annealing, thin films of undoped PbSe exhibited a higher initial absorbance of 0.70, which decreased with annealing, along with a reduced extinction coefficient from 70 to 65. Conversely, undoped PbSe displayed the highest optical conductivity, peaking at 80.4 Mmho’s at λ = 340 nm, closely followed by annealed undoped PbSe. Antimony-doped PbSe films exhibited higher reflectance, transmittance, refractive index, and real dielectric constant compared to undoped PbSe. However, they had a narrower optical band gap range of 2.2 eV, which further decreased to 2.0 eV upon annealing. Notably, doping lead selenide with antimony expanded the potential applications of the films.

Spatial assessment of groundwater quality in Panteka Market Tudun Nupawa, Kaduna, Nigeria

Maryam Mustapha, Mustapha, Muhammad Balarabe, Badamasi Ibrahim Bilal — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Water quality is inherently linked with human health, poverty reduction, gender equality, food security, livelihoods and the preservation of ecosystems, as well as economic growth and social development of our societies. Hence, this research work focuses on Spatial Assessment of Groundwater Quality in Panteka Market Tudun Nupawa, Kaduna, Nigeria. Ten (10) hand dug wells were sample from the study area. The microbial and physico-chemical parameters were analyzed in the laboratory and the data analysis was conducted using SPSS. The results of physiochemical revealed that; Total hardness (TD) ranged between 175-348, Total dissolved Solids (TDS) ranged between 225-645mg/L, Electrical Conductivity (EC) ranged between 451-1,292, Salinity ranged between 29-409. For heavy metals, Lead was higher than the limits given by WHO and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) in 8 sampled wells, and the remaining 2 wells were found 'not detected'. The physicochemical parameters of the samples examined when compared with the WHO standard indicate that some of the parameters are slightly below the WHO standard while others were within the permissible limits of WHO standard for drinking water. The study concluded that water in all the sampled hand-dug wells are not fit for consumption without treatment, because of the deteriorating state of the groundwater in respect to microbiological conditions found. It also recommend that Government should encourage and finance groundwater research by water chemist and scientists to detect areas that can easily pollute groundwater.

A robust evaluation of the exponential-logarithmic distribution and its application to trade credit period data for perishable goods (a case study of Agbor Fruit Market, Agbor, Delta State)

Sophia Oghenevwaire Ezimadu, Jonathan Tsetimi, Friday Zinzendoff Okwonu — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this work, the Exponential-Logarithmic Distribution (ELD) was used to analyze real-life data, and some properties of the distribution were discussed with the help of the Mathematica software. Simulation study was also carried out for different values of the parameters of some distributions with the aid of the mathematical package, and observations were recorded. Comparison between the theoretical moments and the raw moment shows that the Exponential-Logarithmic distribution is a good fit for the data. The method of maximum likelihood estimation was used (mle) to estimate the model parameters. The score function could not be solved directly since it is a non-linear system of equation and the Newton Raphson’s iterative method was used for the numerical computation of the parameter estimates. This was achieved with the use of the mass, stat4, nacopula and fitdistrplus packages in R software. The model was applied to a real-life problem on the length of time (trade credit period) it takes a retailer to pay back goods bought on credit from the supplier before he is debt free in Ika-south local government area, Delta state and prediction was made with the aid of the survival and the hazard function. At time zero, the probability of “survival” (that is the probability that a retailer remains a debtor immediately after the purchase is 1.0). This is the same as saying that 100% of retailers remain debtors immediately after purchase. Now, the median survival is approximately 26 hours. Thus, the length of time (credit period) from after purchase that half of the retailers receive trade credit funding is 26 hours that is to say, half of them will “survive” trade credit funding after 26 hours.

An evaluation of the impact of quality of life on government effectiveness using multicollinearity technique: evidence from Nigeria

Israel Job Olanipekun, Muhammad Ardo Bamanga, Samuel Olorunfemi Adams — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Studies have shown that researchers often face challenges in identifying and addressing multicollinearity effectively, which potentially lead to incorrect inferences. This study aims to detect the presence and impact of multicollinearity within a multiple linear regression model. It also intends to examine the effect of quality of life indicators on Government effectiveness in Nigeria. The data utilized in this study was the Government effectiveness and the quality of life (proxies by suicide mortality rate, self-employment, control of corruption, rule of law, government expenditure, military expenditure, life expectancy at birth, security of life and property, infant mortality rate, people using at least basic sanitation service, people using safety managed drinking water services, people using safely managed sanitation services and vulnerable employment between 2001 – 2021). The data was extracted from the World Development Indicators (WDI) database. The variance inflation factors (VIF), correlation matrices, and condition indices were employed to detect and address multicollinearity within the multiple linear regression model using stepwise method. Findings indicated that, most of the predictor variables were highly correlated with each other, except; suicide mortality, control of corruption, rule of law, general government final consumption expenditure, military expenditure and number of infant deaths, which were retained for the study. It was also revealed from the result that suicide mortality rate has a negative and insignificant influence while military expenditure and control of corruption was found to be positively and significantly related to government effectiveness at 5% significance level.

Evaluation of certain heavy metals in soil samples within selected southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria

S. Mathew , N. Kure , I.H. Daniel , P.M. Gyuk , I.I. Lakin — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research paper investigated the presence of heavy metals in Soil samples from three selected sites within the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The aim of the study to analysis the level of heavy metals concentration within selected southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Twelve (12) samples were analysed at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kaduna using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). From the result, it was found that Mn has the highest mean concentration 83.3 mg/kg and Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb have moderate concentration with mean level of 11.37 mg/kg, 36.53 mg/kg, 41.17 mg/kg, 7.30 mg/kg, 24.57 and 40.13 mg/kg respectively. Other Samples with low mean concentration levels are; Ca, Fe, K, Mg and Na with 0.05 mg/kg, 0.04 mg/kg, 0.01 mg/kg, 0.01 mg/kg and 0.38 mg/kg respectively, which is far less than the maximum permissible level recommended by WHO of 1.2 to 1.5 mg/kg. Hence, the result shows that there were heavy elements within the sampled area. The need for health agency to create awareness on the poor level of basic nutritional elements within the area and also, provide alternative source of the nutritional elements in their dietary. These lack of the basic nutritional elements can leads to the Retard growth, Kwashiorkor, Rickets and Anaemia.

The interplay between malaria vector population, seasons, and malaria prevalence

C.O. Aju-Ameh , T.S. Awolola , G.S. Mwansat , H.B. Mafuyai — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A retrospective scrutiny of dataset from a semi-longitudinal investigation reveals a dynamic interaction between seasons, vector population density and malaria prevalence. Indoor resting mosquitoes collected between the hours of 06:00 and 09:00 using Pyrethrum Spray Catch (PSC), were preserved dry over silica gel and used for morphological and molecular identification. Asymptomatic malaria prevalence was determined through Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT), Microscopy test and PCR. A line list hospital attendance record was collated to explore the symptomatic malaria situation. Metrological data was collected from a weather station in the study community to see impact of some weather elements on the malaria situation. The four seasons under study shows a progressive increase in vector population density with increase in rainfall. A strong positive correlation exists between vector population and asymptomatic malaria prevalence [PCRtest-R2=0.439(43.9%); RDT+MicroT -R2=0.425(42.5%); RDT- R2=0.342(34.2%)]. Symptomatic malaria peaked during the dry season (12.54%) with lower vector density while onset of rains with higher vector density recorded the least (4.7%). Established here is a dynamic interaction between malaria vector population, prevalence and the environmental landscape; hence the imperative for an ecological input in the face of fluctuating climatic elements.

Green synthesis of copper and iron nanoparticles from extracts of eucalyptus with their antimicrobial activities

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Eco-friendly iron and copper nanoparticles were synthesized using masquerade and eucalyptus leaves extract as a reducing and stabilizing agents. Iron chloride heptahydrate (FeCl₂.7H₂O) and Copper sulphatepenta hydrate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) as metal precursors. It was characterized using UV visible, FTIR, XRD and SEM analysis. The UV result shows the highest peaks at 500 and 600 nm for iron and copper respectively. This is due to the surface plasma vibration of the phytochemical constituents present in the extract. FTIR shows presence of alkanoids and triterpenes, SEM shows the spherical granular with no well-defined morphology and mono dispersed structures for iron and copper nanoparticles respectively. It shows good antibacterial activity when tested against Escherichia-coli and Pseudomonas auredinosa (gram- negative), Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsella pneumonia (gram-positive).

Copper and lead as environmental pollutant and their elemental toxicity – a review

Usman Sadiq Abubakar — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Pollutants are substances in the environment with potential objectionable effects leading to impairment of the welfare of environment, interfering with the quality of life that may eventually result to the organisms being affected. The aim here was to give summary of the review of the toxicity of Copper and Zinc as pollutants in the environment, be it air, water or soil, which may be poisonous and will cause harm to living organisms in the polluted environment. The elemental concentration of sediment therefore and its bioavailability not only depends on anthropogenic and lithogenic sources, but also on organic matter, physical (textural) characteristics as well as mineralogical composition and depositional environment of sediments. Copper causes toxicity and hazards in flora, fauna and human beings. It causes a disease called ‘Wilson’s disease. Excessive exposure to Cu may cause haemolysis, hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic effects. Mucosal irritation, corrosion, widespread capillary damage, hepatic and renal damage and central nervous system irritation are some of the dysfunctions consequent to Cu exposure. Among the various means through which lead toxicity occurs are; the ionic mechanism and the oxidative stress. Several studies indicated that oxidative stress in living cells is caused by the imbalance between the production of free radicals and the generation of antioxidants to detoxify the relative intermediates or to repair the resulting damage.

Molecular identification of Rhodopseudomonas palustris isolated from soil in waste dump site in Minna metropolis

G.G. Ezeagu , U.S. Rikiji , H.A. Ndanusa — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Rhodopseudomonas palustris, is a purple non-sulphur bacterium with properties of extraordinary metabolic versatility, carbon source diversity and metabolite diversity. Due to its biodetoxification and biodegradation properties, R. palustris has been traditionally applied in wastewater treatment and bioremediation, and also in agriculture. This study aimed to isolate and identify R. palustris from waste dump site in Minna, Nigeria, using conventional and molecular techniques. Soil samples were collected at 3 cm depth from different points at waste dump sites in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Inoculation was made on Nutrient agar plates and incubated at 30 ºC under 60 W incandescent light for 7days. The suspected bacterial isolate, based on cultural and morphological characteristics as well as biochemical reactions was subjected to molecular ribotyping. A PCR product of approximately 789 bp DNA maker was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis using 1500 bp Lamda maker. The DNA fragments of the isolates were obtained from DNA sequencing and were deposited in the NCBI-GenBank database. Based BLASTn search in GenBank using the fragments as the query, showed that the 16S rDNA of EG-4 share 99% sequence identity with Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Results of this study indicate the presence of R. palustris in waste dump site in Minna.

Polychlorinated biphenyls contamination in Lagos lagoon and impacts on the benthic macroinvertebrates community structure

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that have generated global concerns for constituting hazards in the aquatic ecosystems. Their lipophilic nature makes them to accumulate in the sediment of water bodies resulting to some negative impacts on the benthic macroinvertebrates. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of the PCBs contamination on the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage in the study area. Benthic samples were collected at six study stations for six months using Van-veen grab sampler. Sediments samples were removed from the benthic samples into a glass container and taken to the laboratory where extraction and clean up were conducted in preparation for Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) analysis. This was performed using an Agilent 5977B GC/MSD system coupled with Agilent 8860 auto-sampler, a Gas (GC-MS) equipped with an Elite-5MS (5% diphenyl/95% dimethyl polysiloxane) fused with a capillary column (30 × 0.25μm ID × 0.25 μm df). The remaining part of each benthic sample was sieved in situ through a 0.5 mm sieve and preserved in 10% formalin inside a plastic container for further analysis in the benthic laboratory following standard procedures. Results obtained from this study indicate that there is a negative linear relationship between PCB concentrations and species abundance, diversity, equitability, evenness, and richness. This suggests that PCBs contamination in sediments may pose considerable ecotoxicological risk to the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates of the lagoon. There is also a need to improve the waste management systems to prevent the entry of PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants into the Lagos lagoon and ultimately conserve the health of this very important marine ecosystem.

The hydrochemistry, sediment and benthic macroinvertebrates of some anthropogenically stressed parts of Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The introduction of biodegradable wastes into the coastal waters has altered the water and sediment qualities and constituted stressors to the aquatic biota. This research was carried out to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic inputs on the water, sediment, and benthic fauna of the Lagos lagoon. Six sampling locations were studied from July to December, 2023. Water as well as benthic samples were collected monthly at each study station using the Hydrobios water sampler and the Van-veen grab respectively, and analyzed in the laboratory following standard procedures. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there was no significant difference (P> 0.05) in values of the pH, salinity, The sediment particle composition was dominated by mud. A total of 597 benthic macrofauna individuals comprising 3 Phyla, 4 Classes, 4 Orders, 8 Families, 8 Genera and 8 Species were sampled. The gastropods, Tympanotonus fuscatus dominated the benthic Macrofauna assemblage of the study area accounting for 56.0%. The Phylum Arthropoda was represented by one species Clibanarius africanus, recorded the least number of individuals, which contributed 0.05% of the total number of individuals collected during the Sampling period. The low abundance of the filter-feeding bivalves, the highly sensitive arthropod species as well as Pachymelania aurita in the study area may be indicative of stressed nature of the area. The existence of benthic macroinvertebrates must be guaranteed by ensuring healthy water bodies. This is possible through the implementation of environmental protective measures, which should be on the bases on the baseline condition of these pollution hotspots of the Lagos lagoon.

Physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of well water in some selected residential areas within the Ajaokuta Housing Estate, Kogi State, Nigeria

J.O. Folorunsho, G.I. Ogu — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study assesses the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of well water within some selected residential areas of the Ajaokuta Housing Estate (A- Racca-Foam, B- Borno, C- Kwara, D – Lagos, and E – Abuja Estates). Water samples (six samples per estate) were collected from thirty wells in the study area, and were analyzed for physicochemical and bacteriological properties using standard techniques, and the results compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. The results indicated that some physico-chemical parameters were outside the WHO acceptable limits. Notably, iron and manganese and magnesium contents exceeded the WHO in the five selected area where samples were collected, with the highest concentration at 0.54, 1.0 and 60.0 mg/L, respectively. Total hardness and total alkalinity were also above the permissible limit of 100 mg/L in all samples. Bacteriological analysis showed elevated TVC (0 to 3.0 × 103 CFU/mL) and TCC (0 to 1,200 per 100mL) especially with samples in areas B, D and E, suggesting potential faecal contamination or inadequate well maintenance. The presence of pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, further re-emphasises the public health risks posed by the water samples. Statistical analysis showed no significant discrepancies in water quality across the different wells sampled. These findings suggest that well water in the study area may not be totally safe for consumption without adequate treatment. Hence, a regular and proper thermal or chemical treatment of well water in the study area is recommended to ensure safe drinking water for the community/environs and prevent waterborne diseases.

The effects of cassava peel content on mechanical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites

Jacqueleen Manya , Manasseh T. Bwankwot, Emmanuel Duniya Kambai, John Shaibu — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have garnered significant attention in both academic and industrial research due to the growing demand for environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials. This study focuses on exploring alternative options to synthetic materials by investigating composites of polymers with natural fibers. Specifically, the influence of varying cassava peel powder concentrations as a filler on the tensile, flexural, and hardness properties of pure low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples was examined. The natural fiber, cassava peel, underwent treatment with a 2% NaOH solution before being compounded with LDPE on a two-roll mill to create a biocomposites. The compounded samples were moulded into uniform thickness (3mm) rectangular shapes using a compression moulding machine at a pressure of 4MPa for 5 minutes. This process was repeated for different filler concentrations. The mechanical properties of the produced composites, including tensile strength, flexural strength, and hardness, were then tested. The results showed that the tensile strength initially increased from 17.83 MPa to 20.20 MPa and subsequently decreased at filler concentrations of 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% to 14.7 MPa, 8.58 MPa, 6.12 MPa, and 5.26 MPa, respectively. Flexural strength decreased with increasing cassava peel powder loading, ranging from 22.22 MPa (0% loading) to 6.22 MPa (50% loading). Hardness also exhibited an increasing trend with fiber loading, starting at 10.9 HV (0% loading) and reaching 32.62 HV at 50% loading.

Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha in third trimester eclamptic women attendee of selected hospitals in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Eclampsia, a life-threatening occurrence of convulsion(s) in association with hypertension and significant proteinuria in pregnancy has remained an important public health problem, contributing to significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. The aim of this was to determine serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha in eclampsia, and to compare with those of healthy pregnant and non-pregnant controls. Enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to measure the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha in the sera of eclamptic women (n=38), normal healthy pregnant women (n=25) and healthy non pregnant controls (n=25). Data was analyzed using SPSS ver. 21.0 (Chiga, USA) and p< 0.05 is considered to be significant. The overall result of the level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (232.10±135.87 pg/ml) in eclamptic women was significantly higher than the mean values (180.58±29.18 pg/ ml and 178.38±36.12 pg/ml) in pregnant and non-pregnant controls respectively. Furthermore, eclampsia had higher level of tumor necrosis factor alpha mean value compared with non-pregnant controls (P<0.05). Elevated tumor necrosis factor alpha in the maternal circulation might play a central role in the excessive systemic inflammatory response, as well as the generalized endothelial dysfunction characteristics of the maternal syndrome of eclampsia. Excessive production of tumor necrosis factor alpha may serve as immunoreactive agent responsible for clinical symptoms and fetal death recorded in women with eclampsia in this study. A further longitudinal study involving a larger population is strongly advocated to captures dangerous alterations in the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha as they manifest in the course of pregnancy.

Extraction of reducing sugars from biomass and conversion to bioactive fatty acid esters using [cu-BDC@SIO₂] as catalyst and its docking studies

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research investigates the extraction of biomass-derived reducing sugars from sugarcane bagasse and their dehydration to fatty acids. The fatty acids were esterified to bioactive fatty acid esters using a catalyst. The contents of the active extracts were analyzed by spectroscopic methods (FT-IR, TGA, ED-XRF, and GC-MS). Applying in silico molecular modeling study, the compounds' possible bioactivity was examined. The compounds were explored for their hepatoprotective potential against selected targets: TNFα (PDB ID: 6MKB), TNF receptor (PDB ID: 1XU2), and GSH reductase (PDB ID: 2LV3). From the results of the docking analysis, compound A was identified to have a binding energy of -6.4 kcal/mol, -5.4 kcal/mol, and -4.8 kcal/mol against the target proteins respectively. Assessed for their drug-likeness and bioavailability, all compounds were found to follow the Lipinski rule of five, Ghose, Veber, Egan, and Muegge criteria. None of the molecules violated more than one of Lipinski's rules of five. In this regard, the compounds showed good drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic scores, suggesting their potential to be highly bioavailable and active oral drugs with low toxicity. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the bioactive compounds can be used as hepatoprotective agents.

Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of Crateva adansonii DC leaves and stem bark extracts against some pathogenic bacteria

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Plants have widely been used as sources of both traditional and modern medicine especially in the era of antimicrobial resistance, this necessitated the need to embark on current research on phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of Crateva adonsonii DC leaves and stem bark crude extracts against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. The extraction was done using chloroform, hexane and methanol. Phytochemical analysis was determined while the antibacterial activity of the plant extracts was carried out using agar-well diffusion method with the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Phytochemical constituents of leaves and stem bark of the plant revealed the presence of anthraquinones, flavanoids, alkaloids, balsams, saponins, saponins glycosides, steroids, tannins and volatile oil. Stem extract of the plant indicated no antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi but highly effective against Staphylococcus aureus with the highest zone of inhibition of 30 mm and 20 mm as the lowest. However, the leaf extracts of hexane and methanol indicated antibacterial activity against all the test organisms with 30 mm as the highest zone of inhibition and 10 mm as the lowest. Methanolic extracts of both leaves and stem bark had an MIC value of 12.5 mg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus while the same extracts have the MBC of 25 mg/ml. The study showed that there is a possibility of using Crateva adonsonii DC extracts serve as remedy for infections caused by the test isolates.

Influence of extreme temperature on adverse pregnancy outcomes in Kaduna State, Nigeria

M.S. Ahmed , M.L. Abubakar , A.I. Lawal , K.I. Richifa — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Temperature extremes have been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes globally. This study investigated the influence of extreme temperature on adverse pregnancy outcomes in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Daily minimum and maximum temperature data of Kaduna State (2015-2023) were downloaded from NASA Power Access. Monthly records of three adverse pregnancy outcomes which include Pre-Term (PT), Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Still Birth (SB) for the period 2015 to 2023 were retrieved from the database of Barau Dikko Specialist Teaching Hospital, Kaduna State. RClimdex was employed to compute four percentile-based extreme temperature indices (TX10p; TX90p; TN10p; and TN90p). Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression were used to examine the association and extent of the relationship between extreme temperature indices and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Results of the correlation analysis revealed that correlation coefficient between TN10p and LBW, PT and SB were 0.237, 0.142 and -0.006, among which only LBW had a significant relationship. The correlation coefficient between TN90p and LBW, PT and SB were -0.190, -0.301, and -0.335, with PT and SB exhibiting significant relationship. The correlation coefficient between TX10p and PT, LBW and SB were 0.491, 0.440 and 0.361 respectively. All the correlation were statistically significant. Lastly, TX90p had moderate negative relationship with PT and SB, but a weak negative significant relationship with LBW, with correlation coefficients of -0.408, -0.449 and -0.397 respectively. From the regression analysis, it can be concluded that both cold and warm temperature extremes significantly influence adverse pregnancy outcomes in the study area. Also, daytime extremes exhibit stronger influence on adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to nighttime extremes. Therefore, this study recommends that pregnant women should be educated on the significance of avoiding extreme temperatures, as well as how to avoid health problems caused by heat or cold.

Assessment of health risk exposure of pupils to classroom dust in some primary schools In Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria

F.A. Kamgba, A.A. Abong — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the health risk exposure of pupils to classroom dust in some primary schools in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria. Dust samples were collected from chosen primary schools by the sweeping method. The samples were analyzed using Ultra -Violet Spectrophotometer Palintest model 7500. The data were analyzed using ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact models. The findings of the study revealed that classrooms in the study area are heavily polluted with Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd and Co with exception of a few schools and this may pose health risks to the pupils. The mean concentration of heavy metals was in this order: Co>Fe>Cu>Mn>Cr>Ni>Zn>Cd>Pb. The calculated values of the hazard quotient (HQ) and the hazard index (HI) were greater than 1. The total carcinogenic risk was in this order: Cr>Cd>Ni>Pb and were all greater than the acceptable range of 1 x 10^-6 – 1 x 10^-4 indicating a significant risk indicators of cancer. The implication of this is that there is the likelihood of cancer risk. It was therefore recommended that the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) should sponsor research to routinely monitor the classrooms to ensure that they are pollution – free of heavy metals such as Ni, Cu, Cd and Co. There should be an awareness campaign among teachers and pupils on good sanitation and hygiene in the classrooms and school environment. Also, environmentally – free remediation techniques should be used by experts to clean off heavy metals in classrooms.

Effects of post-deposition annealing on the structural and electrical properties of magnesium-doped SB₂S3 thin films deposited by chemical bath deposition technique

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, magnesium-alloyed antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) thin films were successfully deposited on glass substrates via the chemical bath deposition technique, and the effects of post-deposition annealing on their structural and electrical properties were investigated. The films were grown at room temperature with constant pH, while the magnesium concentrations varied between 0.1M and 0.3M. Post annealing treatment was conducted at temperatures ranging from 100°C to 300°C, with a fixed duration of 1 hour. Characterization of the films was performed using a MiniFlex 600 diffractometer for XRD analysis and UV-spectrophotometer to analyze optical and solid-state properties across the UV-VIS-NIR region. The results demonstrated significant modifications in the structural and optical properties of the films due to the presence of the alloying agent and annealing treatments. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed a crystalline orthorhombic structure (PDF#42-1393) for the films, with diffraction peaks corresponding to the stibnite phase, indicating their polycrystalline nature. Higher concentrations of magnesium dopants led to increased intensities of diffraction peaks, reflecting enhanced impurity concentrations, which became more pronounced with increasing annealing temperatures. Optical conductivity curves showed a consistent increase in the extinction coefficient across the wavelength range of 310 nm to 1000 nm for all cases. In as-deposited films, the extinction coefficient (k) uniformly decreased with increasing concentrations of Mg²⁺ ions, ranging from 0.02 to 0.18. However, annealing induced modifications in the extinction coefficient values, with significant reductions observed at higher annealing temperatures. This behavior, reflecting the variation in extinction coefficient with varying Mg²⁺ ion concentrations, suggests potential applications for these films in optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and sensors.

Study on physicochemical and levels of selected metals in the soils of Abuja Metropolis, Nigeria

R. Ibrahim , M.S. Dauda , N.C. Igwemmar , F. Adebisi — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A study of Abuja soils was carried out to determine physicochemical parameters and levels of selected metals. Flame atomic absorption spectrometer was used to determine total metal concentration. Aqua-regia (HCl-HNO₃-H₂O in the ratio 1:1:1) for the determination of the concentrations of Zn, Mn, Cu and As in the soils was employed also. Range of urban soil parameters were: electrical conductivity(16.20±0.20-374±0.50), pH(6.30±0.30-7.20±0.20), SO₄(7.40±0.40-127.35±0.07)and Cl (25.02±0.02-65.05±0.01). Range of parameters in sub urban soil samples were: EC(12.10±0.10–269.05±0.05), pH(2.20±0.20-7.20±0.20),SO4(11.25±0.0766.35±0.07)and Cl(40.02±0.02–60.02±0.03).Sequence of metals concentrations in urban soils is as follows: Zn>Cu>Mn>As, sub urban soil samples had :Zn>Cu>Mn>As. Excess SO₄ in Abuja soils can devastate the environment with acid rain. Excess Cl in Asokoro Forest portends danger to the environment as it destroys plants and aquatic habitat. Excess Zn in the soils inhibits photosynthesis in plants, thereby increasing the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere, causing global warming and also excess Cu in Abuja soils can interfere in the decomposition and other microbial activities in the soils, thereby affecting soil balance. An effective measure such as environmental risk assessment should be conducted periodically by relevant authorities towards controlling Zn contents in Abuja soils in order to reduce global warming.

Robust M Kibria Lukman estimator for linear regression model with outliers in the x-direction: simulations and applications

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimator remains Best Linear Unbiased Estimator (BLUE) when all the assumptions surrounding it stay intact, but at an iota of violation of the assumptions, it becomes inefficient and unstable. Some causes of the violation are the multicollinearity and the presence of extreme values (outliers). Recently robust Kibria –Lukman based on M estimator was proposed by Majid et al. (2022) but when there are outlying cases in the y-direction. Since, outliers in the x-direction may be inevitable in the data set, therefore it becomes imperative to examine the performance of the robust-M Kibria–Lukman (KL-M) estimator as alternative to already proposed robust estimators that can handle these problems when there are outliers in the x-direction. Through the Monte
Carlo experiment, theoretical results under some conditions and factors, including application to real-life data, the new estimator outperformed other estimators considered in this study in the presence of multicollinearity and extreme values in the x-direction. As the error variances (σ2), level of multicollinearity (rho) and percentage (px), and magnitude (mx) of outliers increase, the Mean Square Error (MSE) of the estimators' considered increase. Meanwhile the MSEs of the estimators decrease as the sample size (n) increases. When rho>0, mx>0, the (px) increases, and sample size (n) increases KL-M along sides, ordinary Kibria-Lukman (KL) estimator outperformed other estimators as the two anomalies occur simultaneously. The KL-M performed better, especially when the sample size was n=100. Conclusively, at the different biasing parameters of the estimators, KL-M performed better than other estimators considered in the study. In the same vein, real-life data was adopted to affirm the claim.

In silico profiling of the ADMET properties and inhibitory potentials of alkaloids against IFIT5 in renal cell carcinoma

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Alkaloids from diverse classes have demonstrated efficacy in anticancer treatments. Interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 5 (IFIT5) is implicated in the pathogenesis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Less is known about the inhibitory effects of these pharmacologically relevant classes of alkaloids on IFIT5. Thus, we determined the ADMET properties of these alkaloids, as well as their inhibitory potentials on IFIT5. Fifty alkaloids were retrieved from PubChem. The structure of IFIT5 was obtained from Protein Data Bank and processed using Biovia Discovery Studio to eliminate nonstandard molecules. Molecular docking was performed using PyRx to assess the binding affinities of protein-ligand complexes, while ADMET analysis was conducted using AdmetSAR and swissADME. Docking results revealed that all 50 selected alkaloids demonstrated high IFIT5 binding effects, ranging from -7.1 to -11.0 kcal/mol, surpassing the di(hydroxyethyl)ether cocrystallized ligand (-3.9 kcal/mol), with nortopsentin A emerging as the most promising hit. Additionally, four of the top five IFIT5 binding alkaloids (nortopsentin A, stylopine, oxymatrine, and deoxytubulosine) displayed favourable drug-like properties. The propitious drug-like properties and strong IFIT5 binding impacts displayed by these alkaloids, particularly nortopsentin A underscore their potential for advancement into pre-clinical/clinical trials for developing selective IFIT5 inhibitors for targeted RCC treatment.

Geophysical investigation of subsoil corrosivity within university of Cross River State, Calabar, Calabar Southern Nigeria

A.M. George — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Assessment of subsoil corrosivity was conducted within the University of Cross River State, Calabar, Calabar Campus, Southern Nigeria. The study employed electrical resistivity methods. The results from vertical electrical sounding revealed that the topsoil of VES1 and VES3 was slightly corrosive at depths of 2.20m and 0.70m while that of VES2 and VES4 were practically non–corrosive at depths 0.60m and 1.00m. The electrical resistivity tomography across the VES2 and VES4 showed a low resistivity at horizontal distances between 5.0m and 10.0m at a depth of 3.75m, indicating very strongly corrosive. Other areas of the profile with resistivity from 19.0 'Ωm to 38.0 'Ωm at a depth of between 6.38m and 19.8m indicate moderately corrosive and 75.0 'Ωm which is slightly corrosive. A resistivity of 148.0 'Ωm to >580 'Ωm at the top layer indicates practically non–corrosive at depths 6.38m and 19.4m. Hence, metallic pipes should be buried at depth 3.0m.

Machine learning-based model for prediction of accountants behaviour in Nigeria

E.O. Udeagha, D.N. Choji , M. Olalere , B.A. Ajayi — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The integration of technology in accounting roles raises questions about the adaptability and skills of accountants in utilizing these tools effectively. Understanding how accountants' behavior is influenced by technology is crucial for their professional development and the accounting industry's future. This study focused on the development of a predictive model, leveraging both Naive Bayes and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) models. The research methodology involved the use of Pandas DataFrame to establish a robust framework for the dataset, incorporating both established and innovative features as input variables. These datasets were then utilized as the training data for the predictive model, with the primary objective of extracting valuable insights for decision-making and forecasting accountant behavior. The key findings of the study shed light on the performance of the different models employed. The Naïve Bayes model emerged as a standout performer, achieving an accuracy rate of 63% and an exceptional recall rate of 97%. This underscores its effectiveness in predicting accountant behavior, especially in identifying positive instances. On the other hand, the K-Nearest Neighbors model displayed a balanced trade-off between precision and recall, achieving an accuracy rate of 52% and an F1 score of 64%. This suggests that the model provides a reasonable compromise between accurately identifying positive cases and overall performance. Furthermore, the hybrid KNN-NB model, which amalgamates elements from both approaches, also achieved an accuracy rate of 52%. This finding indicates that the hybrid model has the potential to harness the strengths of both algorithms, offering a versatile approach to predicting accountant behavior.

Determinants of intention to adopt blockchain technology in Nigeria

Abubakar Aliyu Ahmed , Liu Jinshuo, Gilliard Ezekia — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) helps to identify the drivers of user acceptance of new information technology. Based on this concept, four categories are important to direct predictors of user behavior and acceptance. These predictors are effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitators. Although various scholars have discussed the importance of emotional expectancy in user acceptance of new technologies, it is not a direct determinant in the UTAUT model. This study argues that emotional expectancy is a direct determinant of behavioral intention. Therefore, this study employed a quantitative methodology using a questionnaire distributed via email and WhatsApp to investigate the effect of emotional expectancy on behavioral intention to adopt blockchain technology among Nigerians. In doing so, we extended the UTAUT model by integrating emotional expectancy as the fifth construct of the model. The user model has not been extensively tested in developing countries; therefore, this research could guide planners to reflect on the characteristics that contribute to the successful adoption of blockchain technology for specific user groups. The results of this research could provide blockchain users with useful insights into user perceptions and behaviors toward blockchain technology, from a user perspective.

A review of data analytic algorithms for outlier detection on the internet of things ecosystem

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the last few years, outlier detection has drawn a lot of attention. New technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), are recognized as one of the most important sources of data streams, continuously producing enormous amounts of data from several applications. Reducing functional hazards and avoiding hidden problems that result in application downtime can be achieved by looking through this gathered data to identify suspicious events. This paper presents a review of existing algorithms deployed on Internet of things ecosystem that resolved the challenges of data outliers. It further highlights the problems solved, the results and the weaknesses of the existing algorithms. Also, presented a detailed discussion on various programming language and simulation tools adopted to implement and conduct experiment on the prevailing algorithms; as well as metrics used to evaluate their performances. It was discovered that metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, specificity are mostly adopted as metrics for performance evaluation of the algorithms. Additionally, python programming language and Microsoft Studio IDE simulation tools were mostly used for the development and test-running of the existing algorithms.

Clothing image classification model using regularized multiple convolutional neural networks (RMCNN)

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the past few decades, machines have gradually taken over the daily activities of human beings such as online shopping and clothes manipulation. It is essential to develop artificial intelligence techniques that can help people detect and classify clothing designs accordingly. Early efforts to solve the clothing image classification problem require carefully selecting and extracting certain features from clothing image datasets in such a way that the features of the datasets are highly represented. However, these methods are difficult in defining and capturing a wide range of image features. Research shows that Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) models can solve image classification problems better than traditional machine learning (ML) methods. However, they are faced with problems such as over-fitting, Hyper-parameter tuning, Noisy data, and insufficient training data. This work addresses the problem of overfitting which reduces the classification/generalization performance of clothing image classification models. We proposed four (4) CNN models in which a Regularization method called Dropout is added to each layer to handle the over-fitting problem. The model with the best result out of the four is adopted as the proposed model. The results show about 1.77% improvement in accuracy as compared to the results recorded by other models that were trained using the same dataset and the state-of-the-art architectural designs.

Development of an enhanced naive bayes algorithm for fake news classification

Alice Sikemi Matemilola, Salisu Aliyu — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The proliferation of fake news on social media has become a major concern in recent times with a growing body of research focusing on understanding and detecting these false stories. Fake news can lead to the spread of misinformation, polarization and mistrust between different groups, manipulation, damage to reputation, eroding public trust in media, interfering with democratic processes, and having significant economic impact. It can create confusion and mistrust, making it difficult for people to distinguish between credible and non-credible sources of information. Several researchers have proposed and deployed several conventional techniques to detect fake news from true news. In recent times, Machine learning techniques like the Random Forest (RF), Naive Bayes (NB), Passive Aggressive (PA) among others has been used for fake news detection. Naïve Bayes has been shown to perform poorly due to its assumption of independent features/attributes and also computationally expensive when sparse matrix generated from textual data are converted to dense matrix before use by the algorithm. Against the backdrop of these enhancements, we evaluated the performance of the Naive Bayes classifier and calculated key metrics such as Accuracy (ACC), Precision (PRE), Recall (REC), and F1 Score (F1) for the BuzzFeed News dataset. The results showed an accuracy of 99%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the model. Comparison of the performance accuracy of Random Forest (RF), Naive Bayes (NB), and Passive Aggressive (PA) classifiers with and without text pre-processing was carried out in this study. Naive Bayes emerged as the most effective model in predicting fake and authentic news with 99% accuracy when applied to the body feature matrix without pre-processing. The Naive Bayes classifier, when integrated with Gradient Boost, outperformed both the Passive Aggressive and Random Forest classifiers in this study. Our approach contributes to the ongoing efforts to combat misinformation in online platforms and enhance the credibility of information dissemination. The scores of the Random Forests, Naïve Bayes and Passive Aggressive are as follows 80%, 69%, 87% while that of the new model was 99%.

A study on the effect of the growth rate of gross domestic product on some macroeconomic variables

Modupe O. Abifarin, Audu Isah, Yisa Yakubu, Rasheed A. Adeyemi — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the effect of the growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on inflation, money supply, and crude oil price using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Tests of stationarity and cointegration were carried out, also ARDL and Error Correction models were used to model the relationship among the variables. Quarterly data was extracted from the Central Bank of Nigeria website from 2010 to 2023. The stationarity test indicated no unit root, while the cointegration test indicated the presence of a long-run relationship among the variables. Inflation and crude oil prices have a significant impact on the growth rate of GDP in the long run, while in the short run, the crude oil price has a significant impact on the growth rate of GDP. The Error Correction model indicated a significant relationship between the growth rate of GDP and money supply. The adjustment term was -2.96, which inferred that the model was explosive, and a stabilizing error correction term was used to adjust for the explosiveness. The stabilizing error correction model indicated a significant relationship between the growth rate of GDP, crude oil prices and inflation. The stabilizing error correction model was observed to perform better than the error correction model.

Diagnostic ratios of polyaromatic hydrocarbons for the identification of pollution sources in clams from Okwagbe, Delta State Nigeria

E.Q. Umudi , O.P. Umudi , O.F. Igere, O. Diakparomre — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pollutants found in the environment. Their sources are anthropogenic and natural. Since clams are filter feeders, they can accumulate (PAHs) in their tissues providing vital tool for pollution source monitoring. This study investigated different pollution sources using diagnostic ratio of PAHs. Clams were collected from Okwagbe River, Delta State, Nigeria and analyzed for their polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents. The sixteen (16) priority PAHs, including: 1-methylnaphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene were determined in flesh and shells using gas chromatography. A mixture of acetone/dichloromethane/n-hexane was used for the Soxhlet extraction. The concentration of mean total PAHs was 2.495 μg/kg for flesh and 2.156 μg/kg for shell. The benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) of flesh was 0.210 μg/kg and 0.312 μg/kg for shells. These valves did not exceed the permissible limit of 6.0 μg/kg for benzo(a)pyrene and 35.0 μg/kg for PAHs. The isomeric ratio was used to find the sources of PAHs in flesh and shells. It showed the sources were petrogenic, pyrogenic and wood burning. Clams can be a tool for tracking pollution source identification and improve understanding of human activities on ecosystems.

In vitro activity of methanol extracts of root of Sarcocephalus latifolius (African peach) on Plasmodium falciparum

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study was carried out to evaluate the in vitro effect of crude methanol extracts of root of Sarcocephallus latifolius (SL) on Plasmodium falciparum. Powdered root of Sarcocephallus latifolius was subjected to cold maceration using 99.8% methanol. The crude extract was sequentially fractionated using four solvents of increasing polarity. P. falciparum field isolate was cultivated in vitro using the Trager and Jensen Candle jar method. The plant extracts were tested against the ring staged synchronous P. falciparum field isolates by incubation in 96-well micro titre plate for 48 h. Preliminary Phytochemical screening of the crude methanol plant extracts revealed the presence of Saponins, Tannins, Flavonoids, Alkaloids, Anthraquinone and cardiac glycosides Results also showed that Sarcocephalus latifolius extracts have moderate activity when against P. falciparum with its crude methanol extract having IC₅₀ of 14.78 μg/mL, chloroform fraction with 19.95 μg/mL, Benzene fraction with IC50 of 33.00 μg/mL and ethylacetate fraction with IC₅₀ of 49 μg/mL. the Aqueous fraction had the lowest antiplasmodial activity with IC50 of 72 μg/mL. Statistical analysis reveals increasing activity with increasing concentration which shows significant antiplasmodial activity at P value ≤ 0.01. The findings in this studies have shown that the crude methanol extracts of SL and its fractions have moderate activity on the cultured field isolate of Plasmodium falciparum, Therefore the findings in this research will serve as a stepping stone to avert some of the challenges posed by parasite resistance to the existing antimalarial drugs.

Investigation of the effectiveness of fenton oxidation for remediating ballast water contaminated soil

E.Q. Umudi, O.P. Umudi — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ballast water released from ships have been known to contaminate water bodies and soils and introduce invasive species into the immediate environment, if not properly treated or if not treated at all. There is therefore a need to design several strategies in preventing and/or ameliorating this and to establish the effectiveness of each strategy. This paper therefore investigates the effectiveness of the use of fenton oxidation in the remediation of ballast water contaminated soil. Soil samples were collected from Otorho Abraka and stimulated with ballast water in a laboratory scale experiment. The soil samples were mixed with solutions containing hydrogen peroxide and ferrous ions at varying concentrations. The reaction proceeded for twelve (12) weeks, then the samples were analyzed for removal of contaminants. There was pH reduction from 5.10 to 4.00, but increase in the total organic carbon from 2.80% to 3.40%. Total phosphorus was between 7.20 - 453mg/l, while total nitrogen ranged from 1.70mg/l to 2.10mg/l. There was also an increase in heavy metal content. Soil texture was slightly affected with Fenton reagent. The result showed a significant reduction in the concentration of pollutants with time, since more hydroxyl radicals reacted with the contaminants. Its efficiency and kinetics was established as first-order reaction

Decreasing the glycaemic index of white bread using finger millet flour and its effect on postprandial blood glucose response on Wistar rats

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Low glycemic index (GI) diets have been recommended for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases including diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. One of the high glycemic index diets consumed daily by many people around the world is the white bread, which is rich in carbohydrates. This study aimed at reducing the glycemic index of white bread by modifying the recipe with finger millet flour and to determine its effect on postprandial blood glucose response on Wister rats. Rats were grouped into five groups (n=5); group I normal control rats feed with white bread only (PC), group II fed with bread made from 15% finger millet composite flour (15%), group III fed with bread made from composite flour of 30% finger millet (30%), group IV fed with standard diabetic bread (commercially available) and group V rats were fed with standard commercial rat feed (NC). The rats were fasted overnight and fed with the bread samples. Blood glucose levels of all the rats were measured using glucometer by pricking the tail vein, at intervals of 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mins. From the result obtained, 30% showed lower postprandial blood glucose responses when compared to PC, 15% and NC group (p ≥ 0.05) and the AUC result showed increased clearance of blood glucose in 30% group when compared with the PC, 15% and NC group. In conclusion, decreasing the glycemic index of white bread with finger millet composite flour can reduce postprandial blood glucose level and also increase the clearance of blood glucose from circulation.

Nutritional and sensory evaluation of home-made soy yogurt

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Soybean yogurt is a plant-based alternative to traditional dairy yogurt. The purpose of this research was to assess the soy-based yogurt's sensory properties and nutritional composition. The nutritional composition of each sample was determined using standard methods. Panelists of 20 healthy individuals were enrolled for the sensory evaluation, comprised of 10 females and 10 males. . The sample was evaluated for acceptability, taste, color, appearance and mouth feel. The findings showed that Store Bought Yogurt (SBY) had a larger energy (68.54%) and carbohydrate value (14.22%) than Produced Soy Yogurt (PSY). The PSY had the highest contents of moisture (92.47%), protein (2.73%), fat (0.80%), and ash content (0.99%). Both PSY and SBY had no difference in phosphorus content (0.03 %). PSY had higher content of sodium (0.56 %). Outcome of the sensory evaluation showed that the produced soy yogurt was acceptable. It was found that Produced Soy Yogurt was better than Store-Bought Yogurt in terms of acceptability, color, mouthfeel, and taste. But SBY's appearance was better compared to PSY. Our findings suggest that Produced Soy Yogurt (PSY) has the potential to be a healthy source of protein and non-dairy products for those looking for an alternative to dairy products.

Production of crude bacteriocins by selected lactic acid bacteria isolated from some fermented foods

S.S.D. Mohammed , Q.A. Butt , J.R. Wartu , A.A. AbdulRahman — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Isolation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from cheese, pickles, palm wine and yoghurt (fermented foods) were carried out. The LAB were cultivated on De Man Rogosa Sharpe agar and were identified based on their colony and cell morphology, Gram’s staining and biochemical tests. The LAB were screened for potential to produce crude bacteriocins in De Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth using standard techniques. The efficacy of the crude bacteriocins produced by the LAB were tested against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes. Cheese had the highest LAB counts (3.12×10⁷CFU/g) than other fermented foods analysed. The lactic acid bacteria isolates were probably identified as Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pediococcus halophilus. Out of the twelve (12) LAB screened for bacteriocin production in MRS broth (in test tubes), six (6) tubes revealed the produced bacteriocins. The result of the efficacy of the crude bacteriocins on the test bacteria showed that Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pyogenes had clear zones of inhibition ranging from 9 to 17mm for Escherichia coli and 9 to 16mm for Streptococcus pyogenes while Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were completely resistant to the test bacteriocins. The presence LAB in fermented food products and other food products will enhance preservation (shelf life extension) of the products and still maintain their keeping quality.

Growth kinetics of Streptococcus salivarious subsp. Thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus starter cultures during fermentation of acha (digitaria exilis, stapf) based milk

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study determined the growth kinetic (maximal specific growth rate (h-1), generation time (h), and viability (CFU/ml) of yogurt starter cultures; Streptococcus salivarious subsp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus in acha (Digitaria exilis, Stapf) based milk was carried out. Acha-based milk was extracted, batch pasteurized in an Erlenmeyer flask, and inoculation with 3% yogurt cultures (Direct Vat type (DVS) Yo mix consisting of Streptococcus salivrarious subsp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus in ratio 1:1 The result showed that Streptococcus thermophilus counts increased from 4.00 x 106 to 2.40 x 10⁸ (CFU /ml) at an extended time of 6 h, while Lactobacillus bulgaricus counts increased from 5.00 x 10⁶ (CFU /ml) to a maximum count of 1.42 x 10⁸ (CFU /ml) at 5 h during acha milk fermentation. Comparatively, Streptococcus thermophilus count increased from 6.80 x 10⁷ to 1.70 x 10⁸ (CFU /ml), while that of Lactobacillus bulgaricus increased from 1.20 x 10⁷ to 9.60 x 10⁷ (CFU /ml) after 6 h of fermentation in the dairy milk. The maximum specific growth rate of 0.406 h1 and doubling time (td) of 102 min was registered for Lactobacillus bulgaricus, while Streptococcus thermophilus exhibited higher growth with a specific growth rate of 0.416 h-1 at a doubling time of 100 min. The acidifying activity of the lactic acid bacteria showed a lower rate of 0.619 h-1 in the acha milk compared with 1.136 h-1 observed in the dairy milk. The curdling time for the acha milk occurred 1.5 hours after that of the control. These findings confirmed the possibility of producing yogurt from ‘acha’ based milk as an alternative to conventional cow milk-based yogurt.

Quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical emerging contaminants in water and fish samples of river Kaduna

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The presence of pharmaceutical emerging contaminants (PECs) in natural waters has drawn the attention of many Scientists worldwide. Reports on the presence of these contaminants in different water systems continue to increase over the last few decades. This provokes worry about their potential negative implications to biodiversity and humans and their accumulation over a long period of time due to their ability to biotransform and thus breaks down into metabolites that can be more bioactive than the drug itself. Additionally, they can potentially create physiological effects in humans at small doses. This research involved preliminary investigations on disposal practices of expired drugs by pharmacists within Kaduna Metropolis. Water and fish samples from river Kaduna were collected and prepared for GCMS analysis to detect the presence of PECs. Preliminary investigations on disposal practices of expired drugs by pharmacists within Kaduna metropolis revealed that about 60% of the pharmacists discard their expired products by either dumping in bin or burning; 20% reported to follow National (NAFDAC) guidelines while about 20% either refused to respond or were not aware about the disposal practices. The GC-MS results obtained for water sample revealed the presence of N-(3-methylbutyl) acetamide (335 g/L), acetic acid (81 g/L) and cyclopentaneundecanoic acid (140 g/L). Whereas in fish sample, 26-nor-5-cholesten-3-beta.-ol-25-one (400 g/kg), 1,3-benzene diol (160 g/kg), cyclopentaneundecanoic acid (170 g/kg) as well as N- (3-methylbutyl) acetamide (40 g/kg) were present. Some of the compounds found in relatively lower concentrations in the water sample were phthalic acid (27 g/L), guanidine (27 g/L), gluconic acid (17 g/L) and silver acetate (0.7 g/L) while in fish sample, hydroxylamine (3 g/kg), 1,5 heptadiene (12 g/kg) and silane (4 g/kg) were present. Most of the compounds detected are either esters, acids and alcoholic compounds. Studies on PECs in Nigeria are either ignored or limited especially in Northern part of the Country despite its occurrence in different locations and different environmental compartments with variations in concentrations. This research will create awareness and expose individuals and stakeholders to the potential negative effects of these contaminants. Pharmaceutical chemicals are very broad which include solvents, water, reactants and others. They are found in different environmental compartments. Many PECs are found in both the water and fish samples. Accumulation of these contaminants over time could be deleterious to life.

Occurrence and antibiotics profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from streams in Akoko Metropolis

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Stream water can serve as sources of drinking water and other domestic use. Hence, this study focused on the occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli (E. coli) found in streams located in Akoko Metropolis, Ondo State, Nigeria. Multiple water samples were taken from different streams in Iwaro-Oka, Akungba, Etioro, and Ayegunle. These were cultured on EMB for the presence of E. coli strains. The identity of the E. coli isolates were confirmed by microscopy and biochemical test. Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) was performed on the isolates by disc diffusion method using commonly used antibiotics. E. coli was isolated from all the water samples with coliform count ranging from 3.0x10² to 9.5x10³ CFU/mL AST showed that 47% of the E. coli isolates were resistant to cefixime and 40% resistant to ceftriaxone. However, 80% of the isolates were susceptible to imipenem and 60% susceptible to Augmentin and nalidixic acid. The findings of this study revealed that streams can serve as potential reservoir for antibiotic-resistant E. coli which is of public health concern. In addition, it highlights the importance of monitoring and managing water quality in these areas to mitigate potential public health risks associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Improved amylolytic ability of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis strains isolated from Cassava mash and Ogi

H.A. Akinyele , O.P. Odeleye , O.O. Ariyo , A.A. Akinyele — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Lactic acid bacteria were investigated for their ability to degrade starch under various conditions. Three isolates were selected and they include two Lactobacillus plantarum strains and one Lactobacillus brevis (LP1, LP2 and LB respectively). Growth and amylase production were optimised with different carbon and nitrogen sources, pH, temperature, metal ions and starch concentrations. Obtained data were analyzed with the analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS 2007. All the isolates gave the maximum values for growth and enzyme production at 30 ^oC while the optimum pH for growth was 5.0 for isolate LP2 and 6.0 for LB and LP1. The best pH for amylase production for the isolates was 6.0. Optimum amylase activity occurred at 50 ^oC for LP1 and LP2 and at 60^oC for LB. All the strains studied utilised all carbon sources for growth and amylase production. Concentrations of soluble starch affected amylase production considerably. Metal ions at low concentrations increased the activity of the enzyme while micromolar concentrations of EDTA and 2,4 DNP repressed the activity of the enzyme. LP1 and LP2 had the same V_max and K_max values of 5.0 while LB had the lowest values of V_max and K_max. LP1 had the highest K_m value.

Bird species richness and abundance in an urban disturbed wooded Savanna

L.G. Turshak , N.S. Abdullahi — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Changes in natural habitats by man in the tropics, especially through change in land use constitute a great threat to biodiversity. Habitat modification as a result of human population growth and development activities are the leading causes of biodiversity loss, including decline in bird species abundance and richness. Human activities such as bush burning, felling of trees, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, illegal mining activities are common sight at the Jos Wildlife. This study determined the distribution of bird species abundance and richness in disturbed areas of the Jos Wildlife Park namely mining, logged, gallery forest and savanna sites at the Jos Wildlife Park. The Jos Wildlife Park is located within the Jos Plateau of Plateau State, North-central Nigeria (09°53'N and 08°58'E). This forms a unique vegetation unit, within the GuineoCongolian/Sudanian Regional Transition Zone. SPSS statistical software was used to analyze data. A total of 527 individual birds, 66 bird species in 35 families were recorded in July 2023. Although there was no significant difference in bird species abundance across the savanna, logged, mining and gallery forest sites, data showed that Savanna Site had the highest bird species abundance. There was no significant difference in bird species richness across the savanna, logged, mining and gallery forest sites, although data showed that Gallery Forest had the highest bird species richness. We conclude that bird species abundance and richness at the Jos Wildlife Park were recorded in denser vegetation compared with areas with less dense and sparsely distributed vegetation.

Science World Journal

The role of antimony in tailoring optical properties of spray pyrolysis synthesized pbse/sb thin films for solar device optimization

Spatial assessment of groundwater quality in Panteka Market Tudun Nupawa, Kaduna, Nigeria

A robust evaluation of the exponential-logarithmic distribution and its application to trade credit period data for perishable goods (a case study of Agbor Fruit Market, Agbor, Delta State)

An evaluation of the impact of quality of life on government effectiveness using multicollinearity technique: evidence from Nigeria

Evaluation of certain heavy metals in soil samples within selected southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria

The interplay between malaria vector population, seasons, and malaria prevalence

Green synthesis of copper and iron nanoparticles from extracts of eucalyptus with their antimicrobial activities

Copper and lead as environmental pollutant and their elemental toxicity – a review

Molecular identification of Rhodopseudomonas palustris isolated from soil in waste dump site in Minna metropolis

Polychlorinated biphenyls contamination in Lagos lagoon and impacts on the benthic macroinvertebrates community structure

The hydrochemistry, sediment and benthic macroinvertebrates of some anthropogenically stressed parts of Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria

Physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of well water in some selected residential areas within the Ajaokuta Housing Estate, Kogi State, Nigeria

The effects of cassava peel content on mechanical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites

Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha in third trimester eclamptic women attendee of selected hospitals in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Extraction of reducing sugars from biomass and conversion to bioactive fatty acid esters using [cu-BDC@SIO2] as catalyst and its docking studies

Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of Crateva adansonii DC leaves and stem bark extracts against some pathogenic bacteria

Influence of extreme temperature on adverse pregnancy outcomes in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Assessment of health risk exposure of pupils to classroom dust in some primary schools In Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria

Effects of post-deposition annealing on the structural and electrical properties of magnesium-doped SB2S3 thin films deposited by chemical bath deposition technique

Study on physicochemical and levels of selected metals in the soils of Abuja Metropolis, Nigeria

Robust M Kibria Lukman estimator for linear regression model with outliers in the x-direction: simulations and applications

In silico profiling of the ADMET properties and inhibitory potentials of alkaloids against IFIT5 in renal cell carcinoma

Geophysical investigation of subsoil corrosivity within university of Cross River State, Calabar, Calabar Southern Nigeria

Machine learning-based model for prediction of accountants behaviour in Nigeria

Determinants of intention to adopt blockchain technology in Nigeria

A review of data analytic algorithms for outlier detection on the internet of things ecosystem

Clothing image classification model using regularized multiple convolutional neural networks (RMCNN)

Development of an enhanced naive bayes algorithm for fake news classification

A study on the effect of the growth rate of gross domestic product on some macroeconomic variables

Diagnostic ratios of polyaromatic hydrocarbons for the identification of pollution sources in clams from Okwagbe, Delta State Nigeria

In vitro activity of methanol extracts of root of Sarcocephalus latifolius (African peach) on Plasmodium falciparum

Investigation of the effectiveness of fenton oxidation for remediating ballast water contaminated soil

Decreasing the glycaemic index of white bread using finger millet flour and its effect on postprandial blood glucose response on Wistar rats

Nutritional and sensory evaluation of home-made soy yogurt

Production of crude bacteriocins by selected lactic acid bacteria isolated from some fermented foods

Growth kinetics of Streptococcus salivarious subsp. Thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus starter cultures during fermentation of acha (digitaria exilis, stapf) based milk

Quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical emerging contaminants in water and fish samples of river Kaduna

Occurrence and antibiotics profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from streams in Akoko Metropolis

Improved amylolytic ability of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis strains isolated from Cassava mash and Ogi

Bird species richness and abundance in an urban disturbed wooded Savanna

Extraction of reducing sugars from biomass and conversion to bioactive fatty acid esters using [cu-BDC@SIO₂] as catalyst and its docking studies

Effects of post-deposition annealing on the structural and electrical properties of magnesium-doped SB₂S3 thin films deposited by chemical bath deposition technique