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Evaluation of antioxidant and hypolipidaemic effects of fermented Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) seeds in tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidaemic rats
Get PDFGlobally, fermented foods form an intricate part of the staple diet of people. This study investigated the hypolipidaemic potential of fermented seeds of Parkia biglobosa (African locust bean/iru), a popular condiment by supplementing (20% w/w) in animal feed. Animals (n= 5) in six treatment groups received; standard rat diet (control); iru-supplemented feed; standard rat feed with tyloxapol administered at the end of the experimental period (tyloxapol control); iru supplemented feed and triton at the end of the experimental period; standard feed with administration of fluvastatin sodium (40 and 80 mg/kg body weight) accordingly. Hyperlipidaemia was induced and ascertained by single intraperitoneal injection of 250 mg/kg triton WR 1339 (tyloxapol) constituted in normal saline. It was administered after six weeks experimental period to respective groups. The results revealed that addition of the fermented condiment into
Reaction Kinetics for Nitrosation of DAF-2 in Air Saturated Nitric Oxide Solution
Get PDFStaff PublicationUnderstanding the reaction rate constant of a probe compound with its target molecule is essential for its
selection and use in biological and non-biological systems. Over the past decade, the probe, 4, 5-diaminofluorescein
(DAF-2) has been widely employed for the detection and imaging of nitric oxide (NO•) in various media. However,
the rate constant for the nitrosation of DAF-2 in air-saturated nitric oxide solution is far from being understood. For
the first time, we have determined the second order rate constant for the reaction of DAF-2 with NO• (k2) in airsaturated solution using competition kinetics method. An alternative competition kinetics method which involves a
reciprocal plot of the reactant (DAF-2) and triazolofluorescein (DAF-2T), the product formed from the reaction of
DAF-2 with NO• was developed and compared to the standard competition kinetics method. Our particular approach
in this system is based on the use of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO2), a potent scavenger of NO• against the DAF-2 which
serves as the detector molecule. The product, DAF-2T, is separated from the reaction mixture by reversed-phase
high performance liquid chromatography and its fluorescence intensity signals were measured at excitation and
emission of 495 and 515 nm respectively. The results showed that the second order reaction rate constant of DAF-2
with NO• in air-saturated aqueous solution are comparable, with the average value of (6.28 ± 0.45) × 10 6
M-1s
-1
.
Also, DAF-2 can react with NO• directly thereby by-passing the N2O3-mediated formation of DAF-2T at low NO•
formation rate
BENISEEDS (Sesamum indicum Linn.) PREPARATION TREATMENTS THAT AFFECT PROXIMATE ANALYSIS, PHYTOCHEMICAL, AND MINERAL VALUES
Get PDFBeniseeds, also called sesame seed can be prepared in different ways to
alter its nutritive and medicinal value. Here, beniseeds were prepared by
roasting, boiling, and open fermentation. The proximate analysis
compositon, mineral content, and phytochemical quantities varied by
preparation treatment relative to the untreated fresh seeds. Open
fermentation best decreased anti-nutrient and alkaloid quantities while
simultaneously increasing the extractable protein content. These results
provide a nutritional data base for a local seed stock and quantitatively
demonstrate how preparative techniques can be applied to increase the
human consumption value of beniseeds as well as its medicinal properties
AGENT-BASED CONTEXT-AWARE HEALTHCARE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL USING DROPT APPROACH
Get PDFAs the volume of information available on the Web information systems is growing continuously, browsing
this content becomes a tedious task given the presentation of data that does meet user's aims and needs. In this paper, to satisfy user needs, an agent-based paradigm is an appropriate solution which gives outputs suitable to the user in the form of highly ranked documents. Conversely, patient care and a health condition commonly require collaboration between healthcare providers. The emergence of agent's technology motivates radical changes of how information is obtained. This paper addresses this problem by proposing a novel DROPT (Document Ranking OPTimization) measure for information retrieval results to validate the effectiveness of the information management tasks. We propose information retrieval system architecture, which main components are contextaware agent’s technology to meet users' information needs
Context-Aware Stemming Algorithm for Semantically Related Root Words
Get PDFThere is a growing interest in the use of context-awareness as a technique for developing pervasive computing applications that are flexible and adaptable for users. In this context, however, information retrieval (IR) is often defined in terms of location and delivery of documents to a user to satisfy their information need. In most cases, morphological variants of words have similar semantic interpretations and can be considered as equivalent for the purpose of IR applications. Consequently, document indexing will also be more meaningful if semantically related root words are used instead of stems. The popular Porter’s stemmer was studied with the aim to produce intelligible stems. In this paper, we propose Context-Aware Stemming (CAS) algorithm, which is a modified version of the extensively used Porter’s stemmer. Considering only generated meaningful stemming words as the stemmer output, the results show that the modified algorithm significantly reduces the error rate of Porter’s algorithm from 76.7% to 6.7% without compromising the efficacy of Porter’s algorithm
Inhibitory Action of Nicotiana tabacum Extracts on the Corrosion of Mild Steel in HCl: Adsorption and Thermodynamics Study
Get PDFThe toxic effects of synthetic corrosion inhibitors have led to the search for naturally occurring substances which are not only readily available but are also environmentally friendly. Therefore, this study investigates the inhibition efficacy of acid extract of Nicotiana tabacum leaves on mild steel in 1M HCl using weight loss method. Experiments are performed by varying immersion period, concentration of the inhibitor and temperature. The inhibition efficiency is markedly higher on the addition of Nicotiana tabacum leaves extract in
acidic medium compared with those in the absence of inhibitor. The inhibition efficiency increased with an increase in inhibitor concentration but decreased with rise in temperature and exposure time. Thermodynamic studies revealed that corrosion inhibition may be due to the spontaneous physical adsorption of the plant constituents on the surface of mild steel. Experimental data fitted with the Langmuir and Temkin adsorption isotherms. Kinetic treatment of the data followed a first order reaction. Calculated half-lives increase as the concentration of the extracts increases suggesting that inhibition efficiency increases with increase in the concentration of the extracts.Preliminary investigation of the phytochemical constituents showed that Nicotiana tabacum contains tannin,flavonoid, terpenoid and some other compounds in trace constituents.
[Olasehinde, EF, Olusegun, SJ, Adesina, AS, Omogbehin, SA, Momoh-Yahayah, H. Inhibitory Action of
Nicotiana tabacum Extracts on the Corrosion of Mild Steel in HCl: Adsorption and Thermodynamics Stud
The study assessed the health risks associated with street trading activities among selected mothers in urban centers of Nigeria. The data used was extracted from national survey data among 3,873 street traders selected in various Central Business Districts (CBDs) across three major cities of Nigeria, namely, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt. The study showed that street trading has provided job opportunities for mothers but the impact of the business on their welfare is not visible considering their weekly income that is far below their weekly expenditure. Respondents with primary, secondary and tertiary education are 0.879, 0.553 and 0.818 less likely to be injured while trading on the street compared to individuals who have no formal education. The authors suggest due recognition to be given to the activity and that street traders-government partnership be established in order to safeguard the health of the operators.
Get PDFThe study assessed the health risks associated with street trading activities among selected mothers in urban centers of Nigeria. The data used was extracted from national survey data among 3,873 street traders selected in various Central Business Districts (CBDs) across three major cities of Nigeria, namely, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt. The study showed that street trading has provided job opportunities for mothers but the impact of the business on their welfare is not visible considering their weekly income that is far below their weekly expenditure. Respondents with primary, secondary and tertiary education are 0.879, 0.553 and 0.818 less likely to be injured while trading on the street compared to individuals who have no formal education. The authors suggest due recognition to be given to the activity and that street traders-government partnership be established in order to safeguard the health of the operators
Realities of work life balance in Nigeria: perceptions of role conflict and coping beliefs
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of Work-Life
Balance (WLB) practices in a developing nation of Nigeria. Evidently, on the
threshold of widened globalization propensities, work-life research is beginning
to spread outside the western context. Thus, a qualitative approach was employed
by conducting 61 in-depth interviews with Nigerian employees (41 women and 20
men) working in frontline employments in the banking, telecommunications and
insurance sectors about their perceptions of WLB. The findings showed that though
conflict situations existed more than work-family enrichment, but under different
circumstances due to the long legacy of national challenges facing Nigeria. The
apparent role conflicts have generated various coping strategies adapted by participants of study to moderate their perceived work-life conflict and this paper seeks
to add to the compendium of WLB discourse on a global scale by examining key
barriers detected to hinder its workable practices in Nigeria
Effect of expression conditions on the yield of Dika Nut (Irvingia Gabonesis) oil under uniaxial compression
Get PDFEfficient expression of Dika nut oil from the kernel is required for its subsequent use in producing comparatively cheap lubricant. Various factors responsible for proper oil expression include particle size, moisture content, heating temperature, heating time, pressing pressure and pressing time. Sundried Dika kernel ground to two particle sizes (fine: ≤ 1.4 mm and coarse: between 1.4 and 2.8 mm) were conditioned to moisture content of 3, 6 and 9 wt%. Considered in the study, are heating temperature ranging from 50 to 150oC in steps of 25 degrees Celsius and heating time of 5 to 25 minutes in steps of 5 minutes. Pressing pressure of 5 to 25 MPa in steps of 5 MPa and pressing time of 2 minutes interval were also considered. The maximum oil yield was then correlated with the processing conditions. Test results showed that coarse particle gave higher oil yield. Maximum oil yield of 72.2% of the available oil was obtained at 6% moisture content, heating temperature of 100oC and heating time of 10 minutes. Regression analyses of the oil yield with heating temperature, heating time, and pressing gave r2 values of 0.9678, 0.999 and 0.9128. The processing conditions therefore has significantly influence the quantity of oil obtained from Dika kernel
Impact of Unionisation and Non-Unionisation of Workers on Organisational Efficiency in Southwestern Nigeria
Get PDFThis study investigates the influence of unionisation and non-unionisation of workers on the efficiency of
workplaces in Southwestern Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design method was adopted for the
study. Two hundred and ten (210) respondents from seven different organisations were selected using the
1978 World Health Organisations (WHO) 30 by 70 cluster survey technique. Questionnaire was used as
the instrument of data collection. The questionnaire was titled: Impact of Unionisation and Nonunionisation of Workers on Organisational Efficiency Scale (IUNWOES). Collected data were analysed,
summarised, and interpreted accordingly with the aid of descriptive statistical techniques such as total
score and simple percentage. Analysis of variance, linear regression and t-test statistical methods were
used to test all the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha levels. Findings revealed that there was a significant
relationship between organisational efficiency and non-unionisation in both public and private sectors.
There was no significant relationship between organisational efficiency and unionisation in public and
private sectors. Organisational efficiency was less significantly linked to workers’ unionisation. The
finding also showed that workers performed their tasks not because they were union members but
because of their interests in their jobs and other factors like leadership style and reward systems. As a
result of these findings, it is recommended that appropriate leadership styles should be used at all times
and that workers should be beautifully rewarded to spur them to perform optimally for overall
organisational efficiency. Howbeit, where the national labour policy allows unionisation, workers should
be allowed to join unions. In organisations where unionisation is prohibited, workers should be well
treated to enhance their welfare and promote organisational efficiency