Bioline International
Not a member yet
20181 research outputs found
Sort by
Socio-Ecological impacts of Water Hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (MART.) in Lake Tana, Gulf of Gorgora, Ethiopia
Full text linkWater hyacinth is one of the aggressive alien aquatic macrophyte
threatening biodiversity, economic development and human wellbeing.
Currently, the macrophyte has invaded Lake Tana and its catchment
causing several socio-ecological impacts. So far, there is limited
information on socio-ecological impact of water hyacinth in Lake Tana
specifically gulf of Gorgora. Therefore, the main aim of this study was
to assess socio-ecological impact of water hyacinth in Lake Tana gulf
of Gorgora, located in North West of Ethiopia from November 2019 to
January 2020. Two sampling sites (infested and non-infested) were
identified based on infestation of water hyacinth. A total of 30 water
and 12 water hyacinth samples were collected with a survey of 50
individuals. Results revealed that water quality, phytoplankton
diversity, fishing, navigation, health condition of local people,
recreational and aesthetic value were impacted negatively due to
infestation. Conversely, higher accumulation of toxic heavy metals and
dissolved metallic ions in the root, stem and leaf of the macrophyte
impacted positively. Infestation of the macrophyte significantly
affected water quality and species diversity of Lake Tana. In the
infested site; DO (3.3 to 4.5), SRP (0.012 to 0.023 mg L-1), TP (0.24
to 0.28 mg L-1), NO3-N (0.74 to 0.97 mg L-1) and TN (2.1 to 3.2 mg L-1)
were significantly (p < 0.01) lower than non-infested site.
Generally, infestation of water hyacinth negatively impacted the
society and the ecology in Lake Tana catchment. Therefore, continuous
monitoring and management of the macrophyte is required
Substrate-Induced pH Changes and Process Stability of Anaerobic Digestion of Shea Waste
Full text linkShea butter extraction involves the generation of waste of
environmental concern. To help find a solution to the management of
this waste, and to search for an alternative source of energy, this
study was carried out to investigate the potential of shea waste in
generating methane gas through anaerobic digestion. At high
concentrations, volatile fatty acids produce a low pH, which may
inhibit hydrolysis, thereby affecting the stability of the anaerobic
digestion process. The influence of pH changes on process stability (or
otherwise) was also investigated. The study involved two fermentation
processes: mono-fermentation and co-fermentation involving a mix of
shea waste and cattle dung. The mono-fermentation investigations
comprised six treatments - three organic dry matter concentrations of
7%, 5% and 3%, combined with two hydraulic retention times of 30 and 60
days. The co-fermentation investigations comprised three treatments of
shea waste and cattle manure mix in proportions (by volume) of 50:50,
75:25 and 90:10. The results showed that changes in pH were a good
parameter for indicating process instability. The results also showed
that monofermentation of shea waste was not a viable option in
anaerobic digestion for biogas production, whilst only the substrate
with 50% cattle manure in the co-fermentation trials showed process
stability, producing biogas with adequate methane content
Missing Observations in Split-Plot Central Composite Designs: The Loss in Relative A-, G-, and V- Efficiency
Full text linkThe trace (A), maximum average prediction variance (G), and integrated
average prediction variance (V) criteria are experimental design
evaluation criteria, which are based on precision of estimates of
parameters and responses. Central Composite Designs (CCD) conducted
within a split-plot structure (split-plot CCDs) consists of factorial
(\u1d453), whole-plot axial (\u1d6fc), subplot axial (\u1d6fd),
and center (\u1d450) points, each of which play different role in
model estimation. This work studies relative A-, G- and V-efficiency
losses due to missing pairs of observations in split-plot CCDs under
different ratios (d) of whole-plot and sub-plot error variances. Three
candidate designs of different sizes were considered and for each of
the criteria, relative efficiency functions were formulated and used to
investigate the efficiency of each of the designs when some
observations were missing relative to the full one. Maximum
A-efficiency losses of 19.1, 10.6, and 15.7% were observed at \u1d451
= 0.5, due to missing pairs \u1d453\u1d453, \u1d6fd\u1d6fd, and
\u1d453\u1d6fd, respectively, indicating a negative effect on the
precision of estimates of model parameters of these designs. However,
missing observations of the pairs-\u1d450\u1d450,
\u1d6fc\u1d6fc, \u1d6fc\u1d450, \u1d453\u1d450, and
\u1d453\u1d6fc did not exhibit any negative effect on these
designs' relative A-efficiency. Maximum G- and V-efficiency losses of
10.1,16.1,0.1% and 0.1, 1.1, 0.2%, were observed, respectively, at
\u1d451 = 0.5, when the pairs-\u1d453\u1d453, \u1d6fd\u1d6fd,
\u1d450\u1d450, were missing, indicating a significant increase in
the designs' maximum and average variances of prediction. In all, the
efficiency losses become insignificant as d increases. Thus, the study
has identified the positive impact of correlated observations on
efficiency of experimental designs
Sediment Quality of Orashi River at Four Oil Producing Communities of Nigeria
Full text linkBed Sediment samples were collected in the Dry Season from Orashi River
at three sampling sites each located in Mmahu, Opuoma, Abacheke and
Ogwu Aniocha communities. Physicochemical parameters, hydrocarbon and
heavy metal (As, Cd, Fe and Pb) concentrations were determined with
standard methods. Results showed that total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)
ranged from 0.11 \ub10.03 to 1.91 \ub10.25 mg/kg while total
hydrocarbon content (THC) and oil and grease had ranges of 0.28
\ub10.06-2.98 \ub10.19 and 0.69 \ub10.09-3.60 \ub10.57 mg/kg
respectively. The sediment samples were classified as unpolluted in
terms of TPH. Mean values for pH had a range of 4.33 \ub10.22 - 6.60
\ub10.52 while the texture of most samples was sandy. Mean organic
carbon contents ranged from 0.58\ub10.07 to 3.15\ub10.66 % and mean
total nitrogen and total phosphorus had ranges of 0.30\ub10.00
-2.77\ub10.46 and 17.34\ub11.65 - 29.48\ub11.63 mg/kg
respectively. Mean Mg concentrations were significantly higher
(P<0.05) than the concentrations of other exchangeable bases and
mean As concentration had a range of 1.175\ub10.086-1.291\ub10.335
mg/kg. Mean Cd concentrations ranged from 0.948\ub10.072 to
3.120\ub10.131 mg/kg while mean Fe and Pb concentrations had ranges
of 57.324\ub110.530-159.707\ub141.192 and
1.300\ub10.295-7.462\ub10.861 mg/kg respectively. As and Pb values
were lower than the sediment quality guidelines (SQG) but Cd values
were higher than the guidelines in all sites. Contamination factors
(CFs) for As and Pb indicated low contamination while CFs for Cd
indicated moderate to considerable contamination. Geo-accumulation
index (Igeo) values for As and Pb at all sites and that of Cd at one
site indicated unpolluted, Igeo values for Cd at all other sites ranged
between 0.210 and 1.571 indicating unpolluted to moderately polluted
status
Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles from Ashyranthus aspera Extract for Antimicrobial Activity Studies
Full text linkDevelopment of biologically inspired experimental processes for the
synthesis of nanoparticles is evolving into an important branch of
nanotechnology. Plant-mediated synthesis of nanomaterials has been
increasingly gaining popularity due to its eco-friendly nature and
cost-effectiveness. In the present study, we were synthesized silver
(Ag) nanoparticles using aqueous extracts of fresh leaves of
Ashyranthus aspera medicinal plants as bio-reducing agents. UV-Vis
spectrometer used to monitor the reduction of Ag ions and the formation
of AgNPs in the medium. UV-Vis spectra and visual observation showed
that the color of the fresh leaf extracts of Ashyranthus aspera turned
into grayish-brown respectively, after treatment with Ag precursors.
XRD and SEM have been used to investigate the morphology of prepared
AgNPs. The peaks in the XRD pattern are associated with that of the
Face-Centered-Cubic (FCC) form of metallic silver. TGA/DTA results
associated with weight loss and exothermic reaction due to the
desorption of chemisorbed water. FTIR was performed to identify the
functional groups which form a layer covering AgNPs and stabilize the
AgNPs in the medium. Moreover, silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf
extracts of Ashyranthus aspera were separately tested for their
antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria ( Staphylococcus
aureus ) and Gram-negative bacteria ( Enterobacter ). The results
showed that the bacterial growth was inhibited by the extracts
containing AgNPs Nanoparticles. The biosynthesized nanoparticle was
prepared from Ashyranthus aspera leaf extracts exhibits potential
applications as broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents
Comprehensive Assessment of Sanitary Landfills in Edo State of Nigeria for Waste Management and Pollution Control
Full text linkThe aim of this study is to comprehensively assess the need for
Sanitary landfills in Edo state for management of waste, control of
pollution for sustainable manufacturing system using concurrent
triangulation design. The concurrent triangulation design is in two
phases, Phase 1 using quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics
while phase 2 used the qualitative analysis using thematic selection.
Final results collected from the merger of results from phase 1 and
phase 2 showed the Regression analysis results had a T-test value of
-0.4615 at P value significant of 0.000 obtained for Sanitary landfill
in the model and was less than 5% level of significance indicating that
there is a significant relationship between Sanitary landfilling and
pollution control. The Durbin Watson result of 1.955 showed that the
model is reliable with absence of serial auto correlation. A
coefficient of - 0.346 showed that 1% increase in sanitary landfilling
activities results in 34.6% decrease in environmental pollution. Hence
Sanitary landfilling for waste management has proved to sustain
manufacturing system, control environmental pollution and reduce waste
Synthesis and Olfactory Characteristics of Hydroxyether Derivatives of Methyl Eugenol
Full text linkMethyl eugenol is a naturally occurring substance found in the
essential oils of several plant species. It is a cheap and abundant
material with a rather limited interest as perfuming ingredient. This
research investigated the structure-odour relationship of methyl
eugenol and its derivatives, focusing on the chemical transformation of
the double bond to hydroxyether derivatives in a controlled manner. Two
derivatives 2-(4-ethyl-3-methoxybenzyl)oxirane (68.8% yield) and
1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-ethoxypropan-2-ol (63.58% yield), were
synthesized from methyl eugenol. This research found that the odour
characteristic of 2-(4-ethyl-3-methoxybenzyl)oxirane[floral, fresh,
slight lime and sweet]compounds, is clearly different from the odours
of the 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-ethoxypropan-2-ol [Glue-like, pungent,
and Caramel-like]. It is evident from our observations that double bond
substitution and functional alteration of the methyl eugenol modifies
the perceived odour of methyl eugenol derivative. Thus, structural
modification overall led to an increase in odour potency
Effect of Fermentation, Germination and Combined Germination-Fermentation Processing Methods on the Nutrient and Anti-nutrient Contents of Quality Protein Maize (QPM) Seeds
Full text linkCereals remain the major components of traditional complementary foods
but possess antinutritional factors in addition to nutrients. High
antinutrient content have been linked to poor quality complementary
foods and high level of undernutrition among children less than two
years. Hence, this study examined the effect of fermentation,
germination and combined germination-fermentation processing methods on
the nutrient and antinutrient contents of Quality Protein Maize (QPM).
Maize seeds were fermented and germinated for 72 hours. A batch of the
germinated seeds was further fermented for 24 and 48 hours separately.
The raw and processed maize seeds were chemically analysed for
proximate, mineral (calcium, iron and zinc) and antinutrient (phytate,
tannin, oxalate, saponin, polyphenol and hemaglutinnin) composition.
ANOVA was used to detect significant differences. Result showed that
the crude protein content of raw QPM seeds increased significantly from
10.04% to 10.44% after fermentation while it decreased to 9.12%
following germination (72 hours)-fermentation (48 hours). Crude fat
content decreased significantly with the treatments (4.70-3.20%).
Calcium (10.38-4.23mg/100g) and iron (3.70-1.90mg/100g) contents
decreased significantly with all the methods. Germination and combined
germination-fermentation reduced more antinutrients in maize compared
to fermentation. Fermented seeds had the least tannin (28-27.5 mg/100g)
and phytate (967.5-828.5 mg/100g) reduction while the oxalate (590-646
mg/100g), saponin (425-545 mg/100g) and hemaglutinnin (17.31-19.53
mg/100g) contents increased. Germination-fermentation (24 hours)
decreased phytate content by > 90% and retained more iron (79 vs
61%) and zinc (80 vs 74%) than fermentation. Combined
germination-fermentation (24 hours) was more effective in antinutrient
reduction in Quality Protein Maize seeds
Determination of Optimal Number of Servers at Network Queuing Nodes to Reduce Waiting Time in a Tertiary Institution Clinic in Bida, Nigeria
Full text linkIn this paper, a network queuing model that determines optimal numbers
of servers at the nodes of the school clinic network queuing system to
reduce waiting time of the patients has been presented. The relevant
data was collected for a period four weeks, through direct observations
and interviews. The number of arrivals and departures were also
obtained. The total expected waiting time of the patient in the current
system before modification was 50minutes with total number of 10
servers in all the nodes, while the total new expected waiting time of
patient in the system after modification was reduced to 19 minutes with
total number of 17 servers in all the nodes. The study has determined
optimal number of servers at the nodes of the school clinic network
system. Results from this study is an important information to the
management of the school clinic for proper planning and better service
delivery
Screening of Fungi Isolates from Kaduna Refinery Effluent and Romi River and Their Potential for Bioremediation
Full text linkThe operation of Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) has
increased effluent generation with consequent effects on water quality
and habitat since it is discharged into nearby receiving water body.
These effluents contain heavy metals and other toxicants. Samples were
collected from the effluent discharge point of the Kaduna Refinery and
Petrochemical Company (KRPC) and from Romi River located at Kaduna
South Local Government Area of Kaduna state. Standard methods were used
to analyze the physicochemical parameters and heavy metals of the
effluents. A total of 14 fungi isolates were identified from the
samples. These fungi isolates were screened for their bioremediation
potential on some toxic components in refinery effluent and were
identified using molecular techniques. Four fungi isolates (
Chrysosporium tropicum , Aspergillus flavus , Aspergillus niger and
Rhizopus oryzae ) were selected for bioremediation. Carbon (IV) oxide
evolution increased progressively during the period of bioremediation.
There was a noticeable decline in the phenol, lead, cadmium and nickel
in the entire bioremediation medium. There was a positive correlation
between phenol and cadmium with a coefficient of 0.969. Consortia of
fungi isolated from the refinery effluent and Romi River samples were
effective in the bioremediation of refinery effluent. The mixed
consortium of four fungi showed the most efficacies in the
bioremediation of refinery effluent in terms of phenol, oil and grease,
cadmium, lead and cadmium reduction. Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical
Corporation (KRPC) should adopt bioremediation as one of the techniques
in treating effluents before being discharged into receiving water
bodie