91 research outputs found
Studies on the β-Lactamase Production of Bacterial Isolates From Smoked Bush Meats Correlated With Bacterial Resistance to Three β-Lactam Antibiotics
No full textEight bacterial species were isolated from smoked meats and screened
for the production of β-lactamase; which was detected by
penicillin impregnated starch paper strips. β-lactamase was
detected in the following bacterial isolates: Klebsiella pneumoniae
(75.0%), Escherichia coli (69.7%), Proteus sp. (33.3%), Pseudomonas
aeruginosa (25.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (80.0%) and Streptococcus
feacalis (12.5%). There was no β-lactamase detected in
Lactobacillus casei and Salmonella sp. isolated from the meats. The
prevalence of β-lactamase detected in the samples shows that the
bacteria posses the potential to produce β-lactamase irrespective
of the source of isolation. The sensitivity of the β-lactam
antibiotics (penicillin G, ampicillin and cloxacillin) used range from
8.3-100.0%. Although, penicillin G has the lowest sensitivity of 8.3%
to Klebsiella pneumoniae while, ampicillin and cloxacillin were 25.0%
and 16.7% sensitive to the same bacteria respectively. Salmonella
species is the most susceptible (range from 70.0-100.0%) to the tested
antibiotics among the β-lactamase positive bacteria screened. The
frequency of occurrence of the pathogenic bacteria and the feacal
indicator organism (E.coli) indicated gross contamination of some of
the meat samples analyzed; this indicates that the meats may have been
contaminated either during processing with faecal contaminated water or
handling by the sellers. In conclusion, the habit of eating uncooked
smoked meat should be discouraged and emphasis should be laid on
properly cooked meat before consumption
Solid Verifiable Credentials
No full textThis electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2019Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-66).Credentials are an integral part of our lives, as they express our capabilities and enable access to restricted services and benefits. In the early 2010s, the Verifiable Claims Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) proposed a specification for what is now the Verifiable Credentials Data Model. This living specification, which is still in development, outlines a cogent framework for the issuance, storage, presentation, and verification of credentials on the Web. Many of the leading Verifiable Credentials projects leverage Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), potentially compromising Web interoperability and sometimes exposing otherwise personal data. SolidVC is a decentralized Verifiable Credentials platform built with the open protocols of the Web. It is implemented on top of Solid, a Web framework developed at MIT in 2016 that allows decentralized applications to interact with personal user data to provide services in an access controlled environment.by Kayode Yadilichi Ezike.M. Eng.M.Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Scienc
Physico-chemical analysis and nutrient retention of mixed-culture fungal fermented mango (Mangifera indica) kernel cake in cockerels
No full textThe study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of mixed-culture fungal fermented mango (Mangifera indica) kernel cake (MKC) as chicken feed ingredient. Four fungi namely Rhizopus oligosporus (Ro), Aspergillus niger (An), Rhizopus stolonifer (Rs) and Penicillium chrysogenum (Pc) were mixed as starter inoculums to ferment MKC. Eight treatments consisting of RoAn fermented MKC (T1), RoRs fermented MKC (T2), RoPc fermented MKC (T3), AnRs fermented MKC (T4), AnPc fermented MKC (T5), RsPc fermented MKC (T6), unfermented MKC (T7) and maize as control ingredient (T8) were used for nutrient retention trial. One hundred and eight cockerels were allotted for the treatments ingredients for 72 h using a completely randomized design. The birds were fed on the ingredients with a tubular instrument, while water was administered ad-libitum during the experimental period. The pH (3.50) of RoRs fermented MKC decreased significantly (p < 0.05) compared with unfermented MKC which had highest pH 5.13 at 168 h. Majority of the fermented MKC had higher (p < 0.05) titratable acidity (8.25 - 15.37 mg/100 g) compared with unfermented MKC (10.61 mg/100 g). Between 5.62 and 11.05% of MKC biomass was lost during fermentation which was higher (p < 0.05) at 168 h compared with unfermented MKC. Crude protein of the fermented MKC was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the values of unfermented MKC, while crude protein of RsPc fermented MKC (21.93%) and RoRs (23.96%) fermented MKC were higher (p < 0.05) than other treatments. A great extent of the mixed-culture fermented MKC had higher (p < 0.05) total carbohydrate and glucose compared with unfermented MKC. Between 59 and 80 min were obtained as transit time for birds fed on the mixed-culture fungal fermented MKC. Most of the values were higher (p < 0.05) than 62 min obtained for the unfermented MKC (T7). Birds fed on RoAn fermented MKC (T1) had highest feed intake (28.34 g/day/bird), while those fed on RoRs fermented MKC (T2) had lowest feed intake (21.90 g/day/bird) but had higher (p < 0.05) nutrient retention (59.45%). The values of average nutrient retention of the mixed-culture fermented MKC were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the values of unfermented MKC (39.72%), except for RsPc fermented MKC (T6) that had 38.56%. Ranking according to average nutrient retention (ANR) of the birds fed on the test ingredients is as follows: RoRs (T2) > RoPc (T3) > Maize (T8) > RoAn (T1) > AnPc (T5) > AnRs (T4) > RsPc (T6). The study indicates that mixed-culture fungal fermented MKC had significant (p > 0.05) increase in titratable acidity, crude protein, glucose and biomass loss with decreased pH. There was improvement in transit time and significant (p > 0.05) increase in nutrient retention of the fermented MKC compared with unfermented MKC. In conclusion, results of the fermented MKC were comparable with maize which makes it suitable as a potential feed ingredient in chicken’s diet.Keywords: Unfermented mango kernel cake, fermented mango kernel cake, mixed-culture starter inoculum, transit time, nutrient retentionAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(36), pp. 5887-5892, 6 September, 201
Physicochemical characterization of cellulase produced from Kurthia gibsonii isolated from cassava dumpsites in Ibadan, Nigeria
No full textNo Abstrac
Optimal culture conditions and characterization of cellulolytic bacteria from cassava dumpsites in Ibadan, Nigeria
No full textThis study is designed to investigate cellulolytic bacteria capable of removing cellulolytic wastes that are produced from cassava during processing. Cellulolytic bacteria isolates from cassava dumpsite soil in Ibadan, Nigeria were characterized and their optimal culture conditions determined. The total viable bacterial count of the sample of cassava dumpsite soil was 24.4 x 108cfu/g. A total of twenty four bacteria were isolated from the samples out of which nine of the bacterial isolates were positive for cellulose degrading abilities. The 16S rDNA analysis of two bacterial isolates which gave the highest zones of hydrolysis on carboxy-methyl cellulose agar plates showed maximum similarity ratio towards strains of Kurthia gibsonii (90%) and Myroides odoratimimus (98%) using BLAST and hence the isolates were referred to as Kurthia gibsonii CAC1 andMyroides odoratimimus CAC2 respectively. Kurthia gibsonii CAC1 which was motile, aerobic, rod-shaped, nonpigmented and possessing a Gram positive reaction grew best at incubation temperature of 30oC, pH 5.5 andon lactose and ammonium chloride supplemented medium. Also, at incubation temperature of 30°C there was enhanced growth of a light yellowish, non-motile, aerobic, and rod-shaped Gram negative M. odoratimimus CAC2 at pH 6.0. Lactose and urea were best carbon and nitrogen sources respectively in the growth medium boosting the bacterial proliferation. It can be concluded that these microorganisms if properly cultivated can be used to reduce cassava waste littering in the environment.Key Words: Cassava, cellulolytic, carboxy-methyl cellulose, Kurthia gibsonii, Myroides odoratimimus
Investigation on the activities of yeasts in the post harvest spoilage of sweet potato(Ipomea batatas L.)
No full textPostharvest losses due to the activities of indigenous microorganisms occur in many crops such as sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) which result in heavy financial losses for farmers. Correct identification of the pathogen responsible for postharvest infection is central to adopting an appropriate control strategy. Samples of sweet potato tubers were purchased from the local market and stored at three temperatures: 13°C, 21°C and 29° for four weeks. Spoilage yeasts were isolated from the tuber samples. The isolates were characterized using yeast genomic DNA extraction, polymerase chain amplification of rRNA and sequence determination. The yeasts were identified on the basis of the 26S rDNA. Six yeast species were identified as Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, R. minuta, Pichiaguilliermondii, P. anomala, Sporobolomyces marcillae and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera. The results indicated that the D1 and D2 domains of the 5’ end of the 26S rDNA showed a high degree of interspecies sequence variation for the isolates. Two of the yeasts; P. anomala and R. minuta were selected for further investigations namely pathogenicity testing and assay for extracellular enzymes. Results of the pathogenicity tests showed that P. anomala and R. minuta were clearly able to infect the sweet potato tubers. The results of the enzyme assay revealed that P. anomala and R. minuta were able to secrete varying amounts of eight extracellular enzymes: cellulose, amylase, polygalacturonase, glucanase, xylanase, xylosidase, arabinofuranosidase and ferulic acid esterases. These enzymes have the capacity to degrade plant cell walls and possibly enhanced the pathogenicity of the yeasts. Key Words: Sweet-potato, yeast, Postharvest, Pathogenicity, Ipomoea batata
Novice teachers: the challenges, supports, and effective strategies
No full textThis study used survey research to investigate the challenges novice teachers experience, the support they receive, and the leadership strategies that are implemented to support them. The research was conducted in Manitoba, Canada. Quantitative methods and convenience sampling were used to explore the research questions that guided this study: What challenges do beginning teachers perceive they encounter in their first years of teaching practice? What supports do new teachers report they receive? What strategies do novice teachers perceive are the most effective in supporting them? What challenges do school principals perceive novice teachers face? What strategies do principals use to support novice teachers? A total of 41 novice teachers and 31 school principals in Manitoba, participated in this study. The majority of the novice teacher participants were female and the majority of principal respondents were male – statistics which reflect the gender demographics of teachers and principals in Canada. The areas that novice teacher participants found most challenging were differentiating instruction, planning and preparation, accessing teaching resources, working with students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and assessing student learning. With regard to gender, male novice teachers found differentiating instruction and organizing the classroom significantly more challenging than did their female colleagues. Beginning teachers in rural/small town areas perceived isolation and teaching multi-age classrooms to be a greater challenge than their colleagues who taught in urban/suburban schools. With regard to teaching experience, teachers with less than two years in the classroom perceived isolation to be a significantly greater challenge than colleagues with 2-3 years teaching experience. When considering school size, teachers in smaller schools with less than 200 students considered isolation to be a greater challenge than their colleagues in larger schools; however, teachers in larger schools found planning and preparation and developing collegial relations a greater challenge than those in small schools. With regard to the areas in which novice teachers reported they received most support, the areas most supported corresponded with the areas they felt to be the greatest challenges, with the exception of differentiated instruction, which was their greatest challenge, yet was not well supported. Overall, female novice teachers perceived higher levels of support than their male colleagues. Teachers in rural/small town areas felt more supported than colleagues in urban/suburban locations. Novice teachers valued support programs such as mentoring, induction, and professional development but indicated that not all these programs were available to them. Principals identified similar challenges for novice teachers as did the teacher respondents, with the exception of planning and preparation, an area that challenged beginning teachers but was perceived as less of a challenge by their principals. Principals reported greater availability of mentoring programs than did novice teachers. The recommendations for the study included specific areas for professional development and greater provision of research-based mentoring and induction programs.Includes bibliographical references (pages 110-121)."In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education.
The African development crisis: an evaluation of the ECA's policy responses 1975-1993, 1995
No full textMost literature on development in Africa readily assumes that every leader is interested in development and that when they proclaim their commitment to development and fashion their impressive development agendas, they are ready to deliver. Those in this school of thought seem to forget the primacy of power and its conflict with other goals. This is what this study is about. This research therefore, presents a critical evaluation of the alternative development strategies which have been proposed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) in conjunction with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as solutions to the Africa development problems and why, despite this concerted effort, no significant changes have occurred in Africa. To put this in proper perspective, some of the major EGA regional blue-prints since 1975 to date have been reviewed. The Economic initiatives appear in Chapter IV and the Political and Social initiatives appear in Chapter V. The primary source of the materials reviewed in this research is the UN-ECA supported by other secondary sources like the UN-Africa Recovery based in New York and the OAU, based in Addis Ababa. Our finding revealed that there are two major reasons for the abandonment of these initiatives: 1. The incompatibilities between the pursuit of development on the one hand, and the quest for political survival by the leaders on the other hand. 2. The reproduction of existing forms of economic and political domination by the ruling class. The researcher therefore comes to the conclusion that if the continent is to recover and confront the 21st century unencumbered by debt, hunger, poverty, disease and ignorance, it needs leaders who are strong, self-confident and generators of great ideas who are able to command the loyalty of their people and who are totally committed to the development of their countries. Africa's salvation, this researcher believes, lies in the hands of Africans
Myth and Social Consciousness in Wole Soyinka’s Alapata Apata
No full textThe study of myths—their relevance and importance—has always generated interest among scholars over the ages. After the initial engagements before the twentieth century when most interventions, from scholars such as Xenophanes, Plato and Euhemerus, pronounced myths as intangible, many writers today have continued to use myth as an anchor of their works. In Africa, writers like Wole Soyinka have deployed myths in the interrogation of crises in the postcolonial space. Since the publication of his seminal work, Myth, Literature and the African World (1992), which laid out the essences of primordial forms in his Yoruba tradition, Soyinka has continued to deploy the capacities of those primordial “literary” forms, particularly Ogun, in his interrogation and interventions on diverse conditions in the African landscape. Using Alapata Apatata, Soyinka’s latest play, where the issues of culture and its renaissance, survival and politics in his home country generate great concern, this article re-examines the playwright’s ambivalent attraction to myth and its use to intervene in the diverse social contradictions in the postcolonial space. The author, after establishing the link between Ogun and Alaba, the protagonist in the play, identifies Soyinka’s paradigm shift in a new twist that sees Ogun in the comedy terrain. The conclusion of the paper draws on Soyinka’s “mythmaking” or “mythbreaking” in the play in a way that conceptualises the evolutionary trend in the playwright’s exploration of Ogun
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