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Effectiveness of Moringa oleifera for Abattoir Wastewater Treatment
Get PDFHumans and the environment can be harmed by poor management of liquid effluents, solid waste, and offensive odour from meat processing. For five (5) weeks, the performance evaluation of Moringa oleifera seed as a coagulant for the treatment of abattoir wastewater was investigated. The treatment used a completely randomized design with loading dosages of 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22g/500 mL of processed Moringa oleifera seed. A control group of wastewaters from the slaughterhouse located in Minna that had not been treated with Moringa oleifera was also included as a control. The chemical characteristics of abattoir wastewater were studied both before and after treatment with Moringa oleifera. In the fifth week, Moringa oleifera seeds appreciably removed turbidity with high percentage value of 56.6% from 17.80mg/l to 11.20mg/l using 22g/500ml. Total alkalinity concentration in the sample decreased rapidly in the first week from 216.67 mg/l for control to 63.67 mg/l at 22g which represents 70.61 % reduction which happens to be the optimum dosage based on the observations. Moringa oleifera reduced the total hardness efficiently to its minimum from 141mg/l at week 1 to 69.200mg/L at week 5 with removal efficiencies of 51.18% at 22g/500ml dosage concentration. The optimum dosage was 69.200 mg/L with 22 g/500ml observed at week 5. Decrease in the Dissolved Oxygen levels from 4.67 mg/L to 2.07mg/l at week 5 for 22g was observed showing a total decrease of 55.67%. Phosphate was reduced from 2.26 mg/l to a minimum of 0.57mg/l at weeks 4 and 5 at 16g/500ml with maximal removal efficiency of 74.78% below the NSDWQ of 10mg/L. Moringa reduced the Electrical conductivity of abattoir waste water from 1395.67mg/L to 652.67mg/L at week 1 below NSDWQ of 1000mg/L but increased with greater settling time (week 2 to 5) and dosage concentration. For Calcium, the natural coagulant Moringa oleifera, produced a substantial decrease in calcium contents of the wastewater at different concentrations with optimum removal efficiency of 70.09% at 16g/L dosage concentration in week 5. At optimum dosage of 22g/L concentration, Moringa at week 5 reduced the Zinc to 0.41mg/l with removal efficiency of 71.13%. The high content of zinc has been attributed to high blood volume found in wastewaters. Moringa oleifera has thus been confirmed as an effective natural coagulant which can be used in improving the physicochemical characteristics of water.
Comparative Studies on the Nutritional Composition of Three Commonly Sold Leafy Vegetables in Lafia Modern Market, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Get PDFSamples of three healthy, diseases free, commonly consumed vegetables in Nasarawa State, Nigeria were studied for comparative nutritional evaluation with respect to proximate and amino acid compositions. The samples (Piper guineense, Spinacia oleracea and Gongronema latifolium) contained moisture in the ranged between 4.19 and 9.25%. Highest values were recorded for Spinacia oleracea and Piper guineense. Ash value was higher in S. oleracea (25.38%) comparable to G. latifolium (13.15%) and P. guineense (14.25%). The dietary fiber content ranged from 8.52% in S. oleracea to 15.18% in G. latifolium. The protein content was within the range of 18.61 to 26.12%. The amino acid analysis revealed that all the samples contained nutritionally useful quantities of most of the essential amino acids. Leucine (7.35 to 8.16 g/100 g crude protein) was the outstanding essential amino acid in this research. The total essential amino acids (with His) ranged between 38.67 g/100g cp (52.41%) in P. guineense to 40.53 g/100g cp (54.82%) in G. latifolium. The limiting AAs were Met + Cys, Thr and Met + Cys for P. guineense, S. oleracea and G. latifolium, respectively. The dietary formula based on this report showed that some essential amino acid supplementations such as Lys, Met + Cys, Thr and Val will be required in all the studied samples
Seroprevalence and risk factors of Hepatitis B and C Virus infection Among Inmates in a Correctional Service, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Get PDFHepatitis infection has remained a reoccurring public health challenge. The seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C virus infection among inmates in Lafia correctional service, Nasarawa State, Nigeria was assessed. Blood samples of 120 inmates were screened using the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) rapid test Dip-strip and HCVAb plus rapid test strip. Socio-demographic and risk factors were analyzed using Fishers exact test binary logistics regression (p ≤ 0.05). Inmates were 29.16 % HBV and 8.3% HCV seropositive. Male inmates were 30% HBV and 8.18% HCV and females were 20% HBV and 10% HCV seropositive. Inmates ≥ 40 years and married inmates are more likely to be infected with HBV and HCV infections. Illicit drug use and incarceration above 5 years were risk factors significant for HBV and HCV prevalence. The high seroprevalence and risk factors of HBV and HCV infections among inmates needs prompt sensitization, screening and vaccination programmes
Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and Acute Toxicity Study of Methanol leaf extracts of Musanga cercropioides
Get PDFMusanga cercropioides is a plant that is used to treat a variety of ailments in many African countries. However, just a few studies have been conducted to assess the toxicity of the various sections of this plant. The goal of this study was to determine the toxicity profile of Musanga cercropioides methanol leaf extract in albino rats. Lorke\u27s approach was used to conduct an acute toxicity study. In the first phase, nine (9) albino rats were randomly divided into three (3) groups of three (3) animals each. Each of the animals were orally administered 10,100 and 1000 mg/kg body weight of the extract. In the second phase, twelve (12) animals were used, which were divided into four groups of three (3) animals each. The first three groups received single doses of 1500, 3000, and 5000 mg/kg, respectively, while the fourth group which served as a control was given distilled water orally. After observation for 14 days, no signs of mortality were identified. The maximum dose supplied (5000 mg/kg body weight) did not affect the test animals\u27 mortality or general behavior. When the treated groups were compared to the control groups, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in biochemical markers, body weight, or relative organ weights of liver, kidney, heart, and spleen. These findings show that oral administration of Musanga cercropioides methanol leaf extract is safe at a dose of up to 5000 mg/kg body weight in Wistar albino rats.
Synsepalum dulcificum extract as green corrosion inhibitor for acid corrosion of mild steel in HCl solution
Get PDFAnticorrosive potential of Synsepalum dulcificum leaf extract on the corrosion of mild steel in HCl solution was investigated using chemical technique. The extract inhibited the deterioration of mild steel in HCl solution and the inhibition efficiency increased with increasing concentration of the extract at 30o C. The results obtained showed that inhibition was as a result of the adsorption of the inhibitor molecule onto mild steel surface and the adsorption obeyed Flory-Huggins adsorption isotherm
Generating Mortality Rate Intensity for Life Insurance Applications through Novel Method of Successive Differencing Under the Parsimonious Generalised Makeham’s Framework
Get PDFDeveloping and implementing age dependent mortality rates in functional forms have presented critical modelling problems for life insurance and annuity firms thereby creating serious research gaps. A recurring problem with the existing life tables is that their underlying generating functions are not capable of showing any evidence that mortality at 10 declines. This observed irregularity in the age pattern of mortality is the prime motivation in the search for analytical functions which fully capture the observed variations of mortality with age. To fill the gaps identified, the study aims to develop specific life table function under the Generalised Makeham’s framework. The objectives of this study are to (i) compute the mortality rate intensities (ii) compute the curve of deaths densities (iii) compute the probability of deaths and then compare the common domain of definition of these measures. From the method of successive differencing employed to model, the male ageing parameter value fall within the globally accepted interval for the. This method is superior to the method of maximum likelihood estimation which mostly violates the permissible interval of validity. Computational evidence from our analysis proves that under the Generalised Makeham’s law, the mortality rate intensity declines at
Uniqueness and Convergence of Solution of Multi-Term Fractional Order Fredholm Integro-Differential Equation
Get PDFThis paper focuses on multi-term fractional order Fredholm integro-differential equation which was transformed to integral equation by using Riemann-Liouville fractional integral. The uniqueness of solution of the multi-term fractional order Fredholm integro-differential equation was proved using Banach contraction principle alongside the convergence of solution of the multi-term fractional order Fredholm integro-differential equation, where Cauchy convergence creteria was used. Examples were given to prove the solvability of the multi-term fractional order Fredholm integro-differential equation
Comparative Study of Activated Kaolin From Ahoko Clay and Lemu Clay
Get PDFA major issue facing the globe today is climate change and global warming, which are caused by the use of fossil fuels in transportation and other industries that generate large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. These CO2 gases is the major greenhouse gas which causes damages to health and environment. In this work, Ahoko kaolin and Lemu kaolin were activated and compared as an adsorbent for CO2 adsorption from the atmosphere. Both clays were activated using acid in order to improve the adsorbent. The BET analysis was carried out to determine the surface area, pore volume and pore size of both samples before and after activation. The result shows that the kaolin from Ahoko has a larger surface area with 82% increment of the activated samples compared to the raw samples. Also the activated Lemu kaolin increases by 132% compared to raw Lemu kaolin. The SEM analysis was also done before and after the activation of both samples to identify and interpret the surface morphology of the adsorbent (Ahoko kaolin and Lemu Kaolin). The FT-IR revealed that both samples have characteristic peaks associated with hydroxyl group, silicate group and oxides group. The research shows that the activated kaolin shows a better result compared to the raw kaolin from both samples. It also shows that activated kaolin from Lemu will likely capture CO2 more, compared to activated kaolin from Ahoko
Physico-chemical Properties of Lateritic Soil Treated with Limestone Powder and Fly-Ash
Get PDFThe quality of embankment construction directly influences the performance of the supported infrastructure. This research examined the quality of lateritic soil stabilized with limestone powder (LS) and fly ash (FA) through changes in the physico-chemical properties of mixtures. The representative lateritic soil was treated with a predetermined optimum LS content of 6% and varying proportions of FA (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15% by dry weight of soil). Physico-chemical test such as Atterberg limits (Liquid and plastic limit), linear shrinkage, specific gravity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were conducted on soil mixtures. The result of the tests revealed that the natural soil was classified as A-7-5 and MH (inorganic silts) under ASSHTO and USCS classification systems respectively. The study also found that the addition 6%LS to the natural soil increased the plasticity index to 24.4% from 17.2% for the natural soil, while the combined effect of 15%FA +6%LS decreased the value to 15.9%. Similarly, both specific gravity and linear shrinkage of mixtures containing LS and FA were found to be lower compared to that of the natural soil. On the contrary, pH of soil increased on introduction of 6%LS which increased further when FA was added due to their neutralizing and alkaline properties. Likewise, the combined treatment yielded higher CEC, indicating more exchangeable cations, while the EC increased with fly ash, suggesting increased dissolved ion concentration from fly ash\u27s soluble salts
Characterization of Fungal Contaminants in Fermented Locust Beans in Kwara State: Implications for Food Safety
No full textFermented locust bean seeds are utilized for seasoning in various traditional dishes. Its production is mostly under unhygienic conditions by majorly illiterate women who care less about microbial contamination of the final product. Consumption of any contaminated food can cause health complications in humans. DNA extraction offers a distinct method for identifying organisms. This study aimed at isolating the mycoflora associated with fermented locust bean seeds collected from 3 villages in Kwara State, Nigeria using both morphological and molecular techniques. Morphologically, isolate A was yellowish – green, B was black; C was initially white, but turned to brown later, while D was cottony and white in colour. DNA of each of the isolates was extracted using Zymo Fungal/Bacteria DNA Miniprep Kit. PCR amplification of the ITS regions of the isolates was carried out using primer pair; ITS1 and ITS4. The products were then sequenced and the results after BLAST search revealed that Isolate A is Aspergillus flavus, B is A. niger, C is Rhizopus arrhizus and D is Mucor indicus. The fermented locust bean seeds from Madi village had the highest fungal count (7.2 X 103 cfu/ml), while that from Ogundele village had the lowest (1.4 X 103 cfu/ml). The presence of Aspergillus niger and A. flavus (mycotoxigenic fungi) in this study poses a significant public health risk. Therefore, it is important to encourage the villagers involved in fermented locust bean production and storage in these villages to be more hygienic.