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Extracellular Calcium and Induction of Uterine Muscle Contraction by Aqueous Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Mucuna pruriens
No full textCalcium (Ca2+) serves as an essential signaling molecule in biological
systems, regulating a wide range of cellular processes of which uterine
smooth muscle contraction is among. The present study was designed to
evaluate the involvement of Ca2+ on isolated uterine muscle contraction
induced by aqueous ethanolic leaf extract of Mucuna pruriens (M.
pruriens). Uterine muscle contraction induced by the extract was
concentration-dependent and was completely abolished (100%; P<0.05)
in nominally Ca2+ -free physiological salt solution and in solutions
containing (EGTA 1.5 mmol), lanthanium chloride (1.5 and 3 mmol),
caffeine (3and 4.4 mmol) and verapamil (0.007-0.14 \u3bcmol). It is
concluded that the inability of the extract to produce contractions in
Ca2+ -free media, indicates that it lacks the ability to mobilize
calcium from intracellular storage sites. Hence, its uterine
stimulatory property is therefore solely dependent on extracellular
Ca2+
High Aluminium Concentration and Soil Acid Saturation Reduce Germination, Emergence and Seedling Establishment of Groundnut
No full textStudies on crop responses to soil acidity have largely neglected the
germination and seedling establishment stages. The objective of this
study was to determine the effect of soil acidity, including aluminium
per se and acid saturation, on germination, emergence and establishment
of groundnut seeds. Germination was carried out on groundnut cultivars
Harts, Jasper and Rambo under 0, 50, 100 and 200 \u3bcM Al applied as
Al2 (SO4)3.18H2O at pH between 4.2 and 4.5. Seedling emergence and
establishment were examined in 0, 3 and 6 g of dolomitic lime per kg of
soil, representing control, 50% lime requirement and 100% lime
requirement, respectively. High Al concentration of 200 \u3bcM reduced
germination, germination velocity index and seminal root length but had
no influence on mean germination time of all groundnut cultivars. There
were highly significant differences (P<0.001) in seedling emergence
between non-limed and limed soils. Root length and mass were
significantly (P<0.05) reduced at high soil acidity but the cultivar
Rambo was least susceptible. We conclude that the germination,
emergence and establishment stages were negatively affected by high Al
levels and acid saturation but the cultivars showed different tolerance
levels to high acid saturation, and proper liming can ameliorate the
problems associated with these growth stages
Growth and Fruit Yield of Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) under Different Levels of Phosphorus Fertilization
No full textHaving substantial and working knowledge on phosphorus fertilization is
a pre-requisite to profitable tomato production. Thus, the present
research was conducted to determine the optimum phosphorus (P)
fertilizer rate for better fruit yield of tomato in Ilorin, a location
in the Southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria. Five levels of
phosphorus (0, 30, 60, 90 and120kgP/ha) were tested on UC82B tomato
variety. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block
design with 3 replications. Data were collected on plant height, number
of leaves, leaf area and number of branches at different growth stages
while data on fruit yield as well as its components were collected at
harvest. Results showed that application of 30kgP/ha produced plants
with the highest leaf area. The control and 30kgP/ha produced the
highest number of leaves. Application of 90kgP/ha and 120kgP/ha
resulted in production of highest number of fruits while application of
90kgP/ha alone resulted in production of the tallest plants, highest
number of branches and highest fruit yield. The yield was 66% better
than the control. It was, therefore, concluded that 90kgP/ha should be
used for optimum tomato fruit production in the agro-ecological zone of
the research and places with the same climatic and edaphic conditions
Comparative Assessment of Air Quality in Igwuruta and Aluu, Rivers State, Nigeria
No full textThis study investigated the air quality of Aluu and Igwuruta
communities both in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State,
using carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Sulphur dioxide
(SO2), suspended particulate matter (SPM), Methare (CH4), ammonia (NH3)
Ozone (03) and Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs) as indices. Sampling
was done at eighteen (18) locations within Aluu and Igwuruta at graded
distances from the two (2) flare points located within the study area.
Ambient air temperature, relative humility and windspeed were also
measured for the location. Results showed the following levels for
Aluu: CO; 934.2 \ub1 6.5 \u3bcg/m3, NO2; 1451.4 \ub1 14.28
\u3bcg/m3, SO2; 243.3 \ub1 9.085 \u3bcg/m3, NH3; 2167.3 \ub1
8.916 \u3bcg/m3, CH4; 34734.5 \ub1 9.55 \u3bcg/m3, SPM; 23.55
\ub1 6.05 \u3bcg/m3, O3; 14.795 \ub1 6.33 \u3bcg/m3 and VOC; 4.04
\ub1 1.842 \u3bcg/m3 while for Igwuruta, results are given as: CO;
460 \ub1 6.81 \u3bcg/m3, SPM; 95.7 \ub1 3.588 \u3bcg/m3, NO2;
1300.75 \ub1 4.681 \u3bcg/m3, SO2; 1191.72 \ub1 13.127 \u3bcg/m3,
SO2; 1191.72 \ub1 13.127 \u3bcg/m3, NHM3; 554.05 \ub1 9.241
\u3bcg/m3, CH4; 15078.8 \ub1 10.74 \u3bcg/m3, O3; 17.464 \ub1
1.696 and VOC; 4.659 \ub1 1.059 \u3bcg/m3. The dominant pollutants
were NO2, SO2, NH3 and CH4. These results raises concern on possible
health risk on community dwellers while Igwuruta had higher levels than
Aluu in NO2 and SO2 levels. It is therefore recommended among others,
that gas to energy conversion approach is a readily available
technology that can be used to curb the menance of environmental
pollution due to gas flaring at the same time harnessing the commodity
value of the associated gases currently being flared
Heavy metals in Bushmeat from New-Bussa and its environs, Nigeria
No full textBushmeat have provided complimentary protein for human population
across the world over the centuries. This study assessed the
concentration of heavy metals in bushmeats in New Bussa and its
environs. Three carcass of bush meat (Kobus kob (Kob), Tragelaphus
scriptus (Bushbuck) and Sylvicapra grimmia (Duiker)) were sourced from
the study area. The carcass was digested and concentrations of nine
heavy metals (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni, Co and Cd) were determined
using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results obtained for
the heavy metal analysis were subjected to one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) while Pearson\u2019s correlation was used to determine the
relationship in the samples. The heavy metal concentration in muscle
tissues of the selected bushmeat revealed that zinc with
815.00\ub113.00 mg/kg in Kob was the highest mean value of all meat
samples, followed by Iron (479.00\ub110.00 mg/kg) in Duiker while Pb
level in Bushbuck 213.00\ub13.00 mg/kg is outrageously the highest.
Copper, Chromium and Nickel did not exceed the permissible limits as
set by FEPA/WHO. The concentration pattern of heavy metals in bush meat
show that Sylvicapra grimmia and Tragelaphus scriptus had the same
pattern of Zn>Fe>Pb>Cr>Mn>Cu>Co>Ni>Cd
concentration while Kobus kob pattern of association is
Zn>Fe>Cr>Pb>Ni>Cu>Co>Cd>Mn. The comparative
study of the heavy metal concentrations revealed that Zinc (Zn)
recorded the highest frequency, followed by Iron (Fe) and Lead (Pb).
This study has shown that high level of Pb in the samples from the
study area is a matter of concern in bush meat consumption in the study
area; hence people should be warned of impending danger in the
consumption of heavy metals contaminated bush meat
Factors Influencing the Dis-adoption of Moringa oleifera among Farming Households in Oyo State, Nigeria
No full textThis study was conducted to determine the factors influencing the
disadoption of Moringa oleifera among farming households in Oyo State,
Nigeria. Primary data were collected through the use of structured
questionnaires for this study. Descriptive and quantitative techniques
were used for the analysis of survey data. Result revealed that the
level of disadoption of Moringa in the study area was high whereas
those that are still cultivating moringa still realizes income it.
Also, the respondents indicated that low return on investment on
moringa oleifera, low demand of moringa oleifera products such as leaf
and seeds, low sale of moringa products, inadequate processing
equipment, and inadequate marketing channels and over hyped health
benefit of moringa products were factors contributing to the
disadoption of moringa oleifera cultivation.The study revealed that
age, membership of farmers\u2019 association, non-farm income, and
access to extension and involvement of the farmers in other
agroforestry practices were significant factors influencing the
disadoption of moringa in the study area. However, membership of
farmers\u2019 association and access to extension services
significantly influence the probability of disadoption of moringa
cultivation negatively. This study therefore recommends that there
should be further awareness on the benefits of moringa in order to
increase demand for moringa and its product and that farmers should be
encouraged to join Moringa farmers group in order to network with other
farmers and to access information
Physicochemical Characteristics, Particle Size Distribution and Total Hydrocarbon Content in Soil from Abandoned Landfill Site in Igbogene, Bayelsa state, Nigeria
No full textMost household and some industrial solid wastes end up in the landfill
which is the commonest means of solid waste management in many parts of
Baylesa state, Nigeria. This study assessed the physicochemical
characteristics, particle size distribution and total hydrocarbon
content in soil samples from abandoned landfill site in Igbogene,
Bayelsa state, Nigeria by collecting samples from varying distances
(50m, 100m and 150m) at a depth of 0-20cm and analyzed using standard
methods. Results were in the range of 5.01 \u2013 5.34 (pH), 0.73
\u2013 0.98 meg/100g (Exchangeable Acidity), 2.45 \u2013 3.48
meg/100g (sodium), 0.19 \u2013 0.31 meg/100g (potassium), 3.94 \u2013
5.33 meg/100g (calcium), 1.52 \u2013 2.15 meg/100g (magnesium), 9.57
\u2013 11.49 mg/kg (nitrate), 4.18 \u2013 5.19 mg/kg (sulphate), 6.99
\u2013 8.85 mg/kg (available phosphorus), 8.23 \u2013 12.60 mg/kg
(total hydrocarbon content), 76.48 \u2013 100.25 mg/kg (chloride),
5.14 \u2013 7.59 mg/kg (ammonium), 8.83 \u2013 8.95% (clay), 2.70
\u2013 3.10% (silt), 87.93 \u2013 88.35% (sand), 2.62 \u2013 3.58%
(organic carbon), 4.51 \u2013 6.16% (organic matter) and 0.22 \u2013
0.33% (total nitrogen). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no
significant deviations (p>0.05) across the various distances for all
parameters except for organic carbon and matter, total nitrogen,
potassium and ammonium. In addition, most of the nutrients showed
positive significant relationship at p<0.05. This suggests that at
large the activities of old landfill in the study area is not
influencing the soil characteristics under study. Rather the apparent
decline in value away from old landfill may be due to mobility level of
minerals in the soil toward the southwest direction, which the cluster
analysis clearly showed
Development of Life Span Forecasting Model for KHS DMG-VF84 Bottling Line System
No full textA quadratic model was developed in this study to predict equipment life
span for a preventive maintenance planning of KHS DMG-VF84 bottling
line system. This life span forecasting model for KHS DMGVF84 bottling
line system predict equipment life span at an instant of time. The six
key predictors that were significant in the developed model are:
Availability (A), Reliability (R), Mean time to Repair (T), Failure
rate (F), Operational time (O) and Mean time before failure (B). The
model utilized the polynomial method to predict the end of life of the
bottling line system. The test data showed that the mean absolute
percentage error for this model is 7.5% and has the ability to predict
life span of the bottling line system with a good degree of accuracy of
79.65% with \ub1 0.20% error and the coefficients of determination
R2; for the developed model is 0.7965. This indicates that the
relationship between the dependent variable and the independent
variables of the developed model is good and the predicted values from
a forecast model fit with the real-life data as well. Therefore,
maintenance professionals should adopt this model for accurate
estimates, to enable good detection of possible failures in production
machineries
Determinants of Rice Import Demand in Nigeria
No full textPrimarily, the study examined the determinants of rice import demand in
Nigeria by assessing the short run and long run dynamic model
relationships among the determinants, trends and extent of causality
among per capita income, population, exchange rate and price of rice
imports were equally examined, using data obtained from the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Bureau of statistics (NBS) over the
period 1961 to 2013. Data obtained showed the perceived determinants of
imports demand for rice in Nigeria were local rice production, rice
import price, rice consumption, per capita income, and exchange rate,
price of local rice, domestic stock variation, maize price, meat price
and demographic development. The short run dynamic model result showed
that rice consumption, price of meat, price of maize, local rice
quantity, demography development and stock variance are statistically
significant at 5%. The significance of the coefficient of the error
correction term confirmed the appropriateness of the error correction
approach which also showed that ignoring the long run relationship is
detrimental. The result however, revealed that rice import demand
increases significantly with increasing rice consumption, increasing
price of meat, increasing price of maize (keeping that for imported
rice unchanged) and increasing demography development. Rice import
price, per capita income, price of local rice and exchange rate had no
significant effects on rice import demand. The study therefore
recommends that locally-produced rice should be intensively improved
Assessment of Environmental Radioactivity Level and its Health Implication in Imiringi Community Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Get PDFA total forty two (42) sampled points were investigated for
radioactivity level and health implication using standard method. The
exposure dose rate ranged from 14 to 32\u3bcRh-1 with an average value
of \u3bc23Rh-1. Dose rate and equivalent dose rate ranged from 121.8
to 278.4nGyh-1 and 1.18 to 2.69mSvy-1 respectively. The average value
of the indoor annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), outdoor AEDE,
and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were computed to be 0.936
mSvy-1, 0.311 mSvy-1 and 0.810 x 10-3 respectively. Analysis of dose to
human organs; testes and ovaries, were 0.61 and 0.43 mSvy-1
respectively. Exposure rate, dose rate and ELCR exceeded the
recommended values. All the outdoor AEDEs were within the permissible
value of 1.0 mSvy-1 for general public and below the limit of 20 mSvy-1
for radiological workers as recommended by International Commission on
Radiation Protection (ICRP)