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Poverty Eradication: The Role of Nigerian Libraries towards the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Get PDFPoverty has been identified as the major source of widening global inequalities and underdevelopment at individual, organizational and national levels. The UN Sustainable
Development Goals placed a great deal of priority in the eradication of all forms of poverty by the year 2030. The paper examined the roles of Nigerian libraries towards the achievement of this laudable goal. It canvasses the idea that poverty eradication is possible through the availability, accessibility and utilization of appropriate information resulting in requisite capacity building and empowerment of the Nigerian citizens. The paper identified specific interventions to be used by libraries in poverty alleviation to include: entrepreneurship empowerment, information literacy skills, information repackaging for the illiterate, lifelong learning initiatives, agricultural extension services, consultancy services, information dissemination services, provision of ICT skills education, improving reading culture and mobile library services. It concluded that libraries have the unlimited propensity to catalyse human capital development, productivity and reduction of poverty
Biodegradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Mixtures by Rhodococcus Pyridinivorans FF2 and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa F4b Isolated from Sediments of Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria
Get PDFPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are widespread environmental pollutants that need urgent attention because of their toxicity. Development of microbial inoculants for PAH bioremediation is a potential avenue by which the environmental hazards posed by PAH can be addressed. The goal of the study was to determine if using PAH mixtures,
rather than single PAH, as enrichment substrates would yield isolates that have superior PAH degradation abilities and/or are retrieve novel taxa from the PAH-contaminated sediments of Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria. The use of a quaternary mixture of PAH (pyrene, fluoranthene, fluorene, benz[a ]anthracene) was successful in yielding two isolates, Pseudomanas aeruginosa strain F4b and Rhodococcus pyridinivorans strain FF2 with capabilities to grow on multiple PAH, and thus potentially useful in bioremediation. In addition to the PAH degraded both isolates could grow on a wide range of other hydrocarbon substrates. The isolates of P. aeruginosa and R. pyridinivorans were identified as possessing PAH ringhydroxylating dioxygenases of the nahAC and narAa genotypes, respectively. The present study extends our knowledge of PAH biodegradation by P. aeruginosa and is the first report of PAH biodegradation by R. pyridinivorans. The capability of the R. pyridinivorans isolate to effectively degrade a highly toxic PAH, benz[a]anthracene, has particular importance for use in bioremediation
Librarians’ perception of disaster preparedness as precursor for effective preservation and conservation of library resources in Nigerian university libraries
Get PDFThe study examined librarians' perception of disaster preparedness and its effect on effective preservation and conservation of library resources, focusing on university libraries in the Southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted. The university libraries that provided the data and institutional setting for the study were randomized using the ballot system after which total enumeration technique was employed to take complete census of the population. The population comprised 327 librarians and library officers drawn across federal and state university libraries in the region. The questionnaire and interview methods were used for data collection. Results affirmed, as postulated, that preservation and conservation of information resources would be more effective if disaster preparedness measures are incorporated into the process. As a result, both approaches were found to be complementary. It was also discovered that the core digital preservation strategies are not being practiced in university libraries in the studied region. Consequently, it was recommended that effort aimed at all forms of preservation strategies should be employed to ensure the longevity and sustainability of all information resources
Examining the roles and challenges of human capital influence on 4th industrial revolution
Get PDFStaff PublicationIndustrialization is an improvement of existing manufacturing processes through invention or the creation of new technologies to make activities easier for human to execute. The fourth industrial revolution has several technical factors that needs to be studied properly to ensure it safety and feasibility, however the inclusion of the human component as the central and main focus in this revolution is rarely mentioned. This overview critically examines roles and challenges encountered by man in the new industrial revolution. The collaboration of human-machine component and their performance was also in this paper.Covenant Universit
Impact of drying processes on Bryophyllum pinnatum phenolic constituents and its antiinflammatory and antioxidative activities in human erythrocytes
Get PDFThe effect of drying on the phytoconstituents, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties of
Bryophyllum pinnatum leaves was investigated. The phenolic constituents were characterized using
HPLC-DAD. The aqueous extraction was done and various assays (Inhibition of membrane stabilization,
albumin Denaturation and heatinduced hemolysis, malondialdehyde (MDA), and reduced glutathione
(GSH) contents, as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity), were carried out on human
erythrocytes. The fresh portion (89.12 µg/ml) exhibited the highest potential to inhibit heat-induced
hemolysis compared to the standard drug—Diclofenac (91.51 µg/ml). Freeze-dried sample showed the
highest inhibitory potential on albumin denaturation ([Freeze-dried-330.72 µg/ml], [Diclofenac-318.63
µg/ml]) and membrane destabilization ([Freeze-dried-331.93 µg/ml], [Diclofenac-289.57 µg/ml]) when
compared with Diclofenac. Similarly, the freeze-dried sample showed the highest GSH and SOD level
and lowest MDA level when human erythrocytes challenged with tertiary butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP)
were treated with the extract. This study confirms the retention of a considerable quantity of bioactive
constituents of plants when freeze-dried
Extraction of Cu, Zn, and Ni from waste silica-rich integrated circuits by sulfation roasting and water leaching
Get PDFStaff PublicationHigh-tech electrical and electronic equipment contain large numbers of silica-rich integrated circuits (SRICs) which after its end of life generate huge amount of waste; however, its valuable metal contents can be properly recycled. Extraction of Cu, Ni, and Zn from pulverized SRIC obtained from discarded waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE) by sulfation roasting followed by water leaching was studied. Co-extraction of other metals such as Fe, Al, and Pb present in the sample was also explored. Effects of H2SO4/SRIC ratio, roasting temperature, time, and varying water leaching conditions on the extraction efficiencies were evaluated. The optimum conditions for Cu, Zn, and Ni extractions were determined as H2SO4/SRIC ratio 0.5, roasting temperature 300 °C, roasting time 60 min, leaching temperature 50 °C, leaching time 60 min, and liquid–solid ratio = 10:1 (i.e., 100 mL/10 g) with extraction efficiencies of 61.9, 84.9, and 93.6% for Cu, Ni, Zn, and co-extractions of Fe and Al were 71.1 and 55.6, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, approximate 20% Fe3+ was naturally precipitated which is advantageous for the subsequent step. Comparatively, higher extraction efficiencies of Cu, Zn, and Ni were observed in water leaching of H2SO4-roasted sample than direct H2SO4 leaching of raw sample keeping other leaching conditions constant. Lead retained in the roasted–leached residue was extracted with dilute HCl leaving silica and Al in the final leached residue. Process flow sheet for the extraction of Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb and reuse of silicon from waste SRICs was proposed
Adsorption of Methylene Blue onto Acid Modified Raphia Taedigera Seed Activated Carbon
Get PDFStaff PublicationIn this work, the possibility of using Raphia taedigera seed as a low-cost
adsorbent to remove methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions
was investigated. The activated carbon was prepared by carbonization
and chemical treatment of the seed with sulphuric acid to produce acidmodified Raphia taedigera seed activated carbon (RTAC). The surface
morphology and bond arrangement of the RTAC were evaluated using
the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transforms
infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The SEM analysis results
revealed that the prepared adsorbent had aggregated and rough surface
structure with pores and FTIR revealed the presence of several
functional groups such as –C=O, –OH, –C=C–, –N=O and –C=N–. The
adsorption efficiency of the RTAC for the removal of the MB dye was
assessed under different experimental conditions including, contact
time, temperature, pH, adsorbent dosage, and dye initial concentration.
The results gave the performances of 99.611% after 15 min, 99.635% at
303 K, 99.894% at pH 9, 99.256% with 0.9 g, and 99.743% for 40 mg/L
for evaluating the effect of the contact time, temperature, pH, adsorbent
dosage, and dye solutions initial concentration, respectively. The
adsorption of the MB dye onto the RTAC conformed to Langmuir
isotherm and fit best to pseudo-second-order kinetic models.
Thermodynamic studies indicated a spontaneous, endothermic, feasible,
and physisorption nature of the RTAC and MB dye interactions. The
present study found the acid-modified Raphia taedigera seed activated
carbon to be a promising low-cost adsorbent for the removal of MB dye
from aqueous solution
Optimization study of bioethanol production from sponge gourd ( Luffa cylindrica )
Get PDFStaff Publicationily available and under-utilized. In this study, SG as a potential source for production of ethanol was studied under statistically optimized conditions. SG was collected, peeled, dried, milled and sieved (1mm). Several pretreatment methods were employed on SG namely: steam explosion, alkaline, combination of alkaline and steam explosion, zinc chlo- ride and sodium sulphite. Central Composite Design (CCD) of Response Surface Methodol- ogy (RSM) was used to design and determine the optimum parameters for glucose yield as well as the fermentation for bioethanol production. The best pretreatment method for sponge gourd was investigated to be sodium sulphite pretreatment with a glucose yield of 6.65 kgm −3 . The sodium sulphite pretreated SG was modelled, optimized and validated with R 2 of 0.9974 at p < 0.05. Glucose production was optimal at conditions: sodium sulphite (9% w/w), temperature (100 °C) and reaction time (60 min) resulting in glucose yield of 6.673 kgm −3 . From the CCD, the factors that gave the highest ethanol concentra- tion of 6.84kgm −3 were inoculum size (7.5 v/v), fermentation time (24 h) and nitrogen source (inorganic). The study concluded that sponge gourd could be a potential feedstock for bioethanol production and would prevent under-utilized agro-waste materials
Prospects and Challenges of Web 3.0 Technologies Application in the Provision of Library Services
Get PDFThe chapter examines the prospects and challenges of the application of Web 3.0 technologies as they relate to semantic web, federated search, mobile application, and their impact on library services. The principles, features, application, potentiality, and challenges of the technologies vis-à-vis library services form the broad objectives that guided the chapter. Following a brief retrospective review of the developments of web technologies, the chapter discusses Web 3.0 from the context of semantic web, cloud computing, federated search and virtual reference services. It broadens the prospects of Web 3.0 as it affects the provision of web-based services like its flexibility as solution to digital content volatility and ability to widen cloud-based services using open source electronic library software among others. Having expatiated the challenges Web 3.0 portends for web-based library services, the chapter concludes with the need for librarians and users to co-create value for participatory librarianship
Librarians’ perception of disaster preparedness as precursor for effective preservation and conservation of library resources in Nigerian university libraries
Get PDFThe study examined librarians' perception of disaster preparedness and its effect on effective preservation and conservation of library resources, focusing on university libraries in the Southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted. The university libraries that provided the data and institutional setting for the study were randomized using the ballot system after which total enumeration technique was employed to take complete census of the population. The population comprised 327 librarians and library officers drawn across federal and state university libraries in the region. The questionnaire and interview methods were used for data collection. Results affirmed, as postulated, that preservation and conservation of information resources would be more effective if disaster preparedness measures are incorporated into the process. As a result, both approaches were found to be complementary. It was also discovered that the core digital preservation strategies are not being practiced in university libraries in the studied region. Consequently, it was recommended that effort aimed at all forms of preservation strategies should be employed to ensure the longevity and sustainability of all information resources