NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF CYMBOPOGON CITRATUS WATER AND METHANOLIC EXTRACT ON ISOLATES OF DATE FRUIT-TIGERNUT DRINKS SOLD IN DELTA STATE.

2024-01-29T18:26:22+00:00

Date fruit-Tiger nut drink is a highly nutritious traditional drink. Samples of tiger nut and date fruits were collected from some cities in the three senatorial districts of Delta State: Delta North (Asaba and Agbor); Delta South (Oleh and Warri); and Delta Central (Sapele and Abraka). Phytochemical analysis of lemon grass water extract gave the following results: glycoside, 11.78mg/g; phenols: 121.16mg/g; flavonoids, 43.16mg/g; tannins, 18.47mg/g; and terpenoids, 8.43mg/g; while it was: alkaloids, 31.00mg/g; steroids, 17.00mg/g; saponins, 28.43mg/g; flavonoids, 37.36mg/g; tannins, 14.47mg/g; terpernoids, 12.11mg/g; and phenol, 138mg/g for lemon grass methanolic extracts. The bacteria isolated from the drinks were identified as Beta protoebacterium species, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Erwinia chrysanthemi strains by biochemical and molecular characterization. Lemon grass methanolic extract inhibited growth of organisms at 60 and 80(mg/ml) concentrations while lemon grass water extract did not inhibit the growth of the organisms at the various concentrations used. A proximate analysis of the
Date fruit-Tiger nut drink at intervals of 48hours during treatment with lemon grass methanolic extract showed significant (P<0.05) reductions in carbohydrate (80.64 mg/ml +2.82 to 62.59 mg/ml +4.48), protein (13.46 mg/ml +0.57 to 4.17 mg/ml +0.97) , fat (3.30 mg/ml +0.98 to 1.00 mg/ml +0.40), Crude fibre (14.06 mg/ml +0.32 to 7.40 mg/ml +2.42) and Ash (5.18 mg/ml +0.04 to 5.03 mg/ml+0.05). Moisture contents significantly (P<0.05) increased from (4.2 mg/ml+0.19 to 4.94 mg/ml +0.09). Retarded deterioration of date fruit-tiger nut drink was indicated therefore, methanolic extract can be potentially useful for the preservation of date fruit-tiger nut drink

ANALYSIS OF THE POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS) IN THE WETLANDS IN OKPAI OIL BEARING COMMUNITY FOR CAGE AQUACULTURE ADOPTION AS A RECIPE FOR UNLEASHING SCIENCE FOR ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION IN NIGERIA

2024-01-29T18:14:54+00:00

This study investigated the concentrations of PAHs in the wetlands of Okpai oil bearing community. Five research questions were answered with a hypothesis tested. To implement these, Okpai wetlands were mapped into grids corresponding to Okpai
component parts and samples were collected from 5 spots in each adopting grab technique and composite drawn in 125 mL bottles were stored for analysis. The analytical standard was EU 1881/2014 and the instrument of determination was Agilent GC-UV/DAD model 6890G. The mean results obtained were pyrene; 160±0.11 µg/l, chrysene; 1.52±0.13 µg/l, BaP, 1.64±0.12 µg/l, BaA; 1.64±0.13 µg/l and BbF; 1.59±0.12 µg/l. The results were further subjected to test of significance with ANOVA using SPSS model 29 (IBM) at 0.05 level of significance. The p. value was 0.48 thus rejecting the null hypothesis (H0). The study revealed that the wetland was polluted by PAHs above the maximum permissible concentrations, thus making the wetland not suitable for cage aquaculture adoption for economic diversification. The oil companies are thus enjoined to adopt best practices in their operations.
Furthermore, environmental pollution monitoring agencies National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and National Environmental Standards Regulation and Enforcement Agencies (NESREA) should increase their surveillance on the oil exploration and exploitation activities in Nigeria particularly in Okpai, and the impacted wetlands should be remediated and mitigation mechanism be put in place to restore the ecosystem to encourage the adoption of cage aquaculture for in Okpai
wetlands in particular and the entire country in general for economic diversification

EFFECT OF PH AND TEMPERATURE ON THE REMOVAL OF HEAVY METALS BY AUTOCHTHONOUS BACTERIA FROM SOIL IN A GAS FLARING ENVIRONMENT

2024-01-29T18:58:36+00:00

The concentration of heavy-metals in soil is constantly being altered by activities of gas flaring in the environment. This study was carried out to assess the effect of pH and temperature on the removal of heavy-metals: Lead, Chromium, and Cadmium present in soils of gas-flaring communities using autochthonous heavymetal resistant bacteria. Thirty soil samples were each collected from three communities and a total of 120 bacteria strains isolated amongst which two were found to withstand mixtures of lead, Chromium and Cadmium contamination up to 500ppm. The isolates were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing for identification which ares Salmonella enterica and Alcaligenes faecalis. The Effect of pH and temperature was studied at pH 5, 7, and 9 at 37℃ and temperatures of 35, 55, and 65℃ at pH 7 for 48hours to determine the rate of metal removal. At the end of 48hours, Salmonella enterica recorded the highest lead removal (74%) at pH 5 with a concentration of 300ppm, Chromium(85%) and Cadmium(86%) removal at pH 7 with a concentration of 400ppm. At a temperature of 55℃ with a concentration of 400ppm, the highest lead removal (82%) was recorded with Alcaligenes faecalis, while Chromium (85%) and Cadmium (86%) removal
with Salmonella enterica. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in the concentration of heavy-metals before and after bioremediation. This study reveals that pH 5 and 7 and temperature of 55℃ at concentrations of 400ppm can thus be used for the removal of lead, Chromium and Cadmium in polluted soil in gasflaring environment

RAUVOLFIA VOMITORIA LEAVES AS A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF NATURAL COLOURANTS FOR POLYAMIDE FABRICS

2024-01-29T17:50:32+00:00

As the global demand for safe products is increasing, the search for new sources of natural dyes need to be intensified. This paper focuses on the extraction procedure and dyeing characteristics of Raufolvia vomitoria leaf extract as a new source of natural dyes. It was found that extraction using protic solvent (mixture of C2H5OH and 0.5M H2SO4) could reach optimal values at a temperature of 70°C after 5 hours. It was also found that the colouring and non-colouring components present in R. vomitoria leaf extract were identified as Vanillic acid, Ferulic acid, ρ-Cumaric acid and Chlorogenic acid. Simultaneous mordanting and dyeing of wool and nylon 6 fabrics were then performed in order to study the dyeability activity on these two textile fabrics. The chelating materials used as mordants were CuSO4, SnCl2 and FeSO4 The colorimetric parameters of the dyed fabric samples were determined using reflectance method. Furthermore, the washing, light and rubbing fastness properties were tested according to standard methods. In particular, the washing and light fastness properties were very good and excellent (6 and 6/7) technically

A MODEL FOR PERFORMANCE INDICES IN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES

2024-01-29T18:44:57+00:00

Safety management is an act of entrenching some fundamental guideline, framework, processes, principles and measures to mitigate accidents such as injuries and other related consequences that may be caused using a facility or a product. Thus,
the safety of any organization is a priority choice decision by any management to offer best safety system to all concerned. Obviously, safety management system comes with a very high premium and yet the implementation of safety precautions
nose dive with little or no credibility has created unstable state within workforce. In this study, we introduce an experimental design model known as the Central Composite Design (CCD) with five coded levels architecture of four factors that would give a functional relationship with the proposed global method for adequate fitting of data as generated from the compiled questionnaire. But for the purpose of this study, the author focus more on the design model that can be implemented with
computer application for a precaution model validation of the safety measures entrenched in Oil and Gas sector through the justification of data analysed from respondents. Safety management is complicated due to the complex "nature" of the workplace. Some of the safety factors that have been identified include risk management and site management, organizational complexity ratio and combinations of such factors connected to safety performance and the model as proposed has capacity to mitigate these excesses.

DIGITALIZED WORKFLOW ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM FOR CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL (CFI)

2024-01-29T17:31:39+00:00

The role of administration in national development and the speedy resolution of decision have gone beyond pen and paper synergy. This work was undertaken with the goal of creating an online administration reporting system for Christian
Fellowship International (CFI). The methodology used in the study was the Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM), which is a technical approach for analyzing and designing an application or system by applying objects throughout the software development process. The system was created to provide a comprehensive database that includes weekly, quarterly and travel reports. An efficient and convenient method of communication was established between chapters, sectors, and the Head Office to share reports among members and users. The system was set up using the various programming tools such as JAVASCRIPT, PHP, SQL and JQUERY. Technical support was given to chapters, National Officers, and the Head Office on the automated workflow of the CFI. On the system, the administrator can update and perform routine maintenance to prevent malware if hosted. The work as demonstrated and implemented is seen to be successful in the achievement of its objectives and the system has been implemented to improve the organization's reporting process and communication among its members. The
testing of the system revealed a total shift from the traditional method of procedures of CFI operations and the feedbacks/remarks obtained show clear acceptance of the workings of the system

Spread of Multi-drug Resistant Aerosolised Salmonella sp and Escherichiacoli from Dumpsites in Built Environment of Abraka Town, Nigeria

2024-01-29T18:33:19+00:00

Waste dumpsites are known to be hot spots for the development of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogenic microorganisms, which can be dispersed via aerosols. The dispersal of MDR Salmonella sp and E. coli in dumpsite-infested neighbourhoods of Abraka, a university town, was therefore investigated. Eosine Methylene Blue and Bismuth Sulphite agar plates were used to isolate airborne E. coli and Salmonella sp, respectively using settling plate technique. Air sampling was carried out at 3 neighbourhood dumpsites and at intervals of 50m up to 200m away from the dumpsites along the cardinal directions. The isolates were tested for antibiotics resistance using 10 antibiotics and those with multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR) index≥0.3 were considered MDR and subsequently subjected to plasmid curing, and re-tested for antibiotics resistance. The population of both organisms varied with
cardinal directions and dumpsites, but generally declined as the distance from dumpsites increased (E. coli, 2.96-1.72 log cfu/m3
; Salmonella sp, 2.65-0.00 cfu/m3 ). By overall assessment, mean MAR index for E. coli isolates was 0.39±0.01-0.64±0.04
and 0.37±0.02-0.68±0.03 for Salmonella sp isolates. MDR E. coli and Salmonella sp constituted 26.7-45.7 and 0.0-47.1% of the total population, respectively; and were encountered up to 200m away from the dumpsites at all directions although with decreasing numbers. There were significant reductions (P<0.05) in the MAR indexes of both organisms after curing thereby indicating plasmid involvement in the MDR. In conclusion, the aerosolised plasmid-encoded and chromosome-based genes in MDR organisms from dumpsites can be dispersed in neighbourhoods; and plasmids can spread antibiotics resistant genes by horizontal transfer and compound therapeutic options

ADMIXTURE OF PERIWINKLE (Littorina littorea) SHELL ASH AND CEMENT FOR STABILIZATION OF SOME LATERITIC SOILS FROM WESTERN NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

2024-01-29T17:13:32+00:00

The frequent failure of road pavement is the major problem in the Niger Delta, and this may be due to the soils having poor engineering strength. This failure can be minimized by stabilization of the soils. Conventional soil-improving additive cement is the most widely used in stabilization. However, due to the ever-rising cost of cement, alternative materials that are less costly and available locally have been considered to argument or reduce the cement percentage for the stabilization of the lateritic soil. Preliminary tests and engineering properties were carried out on six and four respectively on natural lateritic soil samples. Soil-cement stabilization was taken at 0, 5, 7, and 9%. Periwinkle Shell Ash (PSA) at various percentage proportions of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% was thoroughly mixed with 5 and 7% soil-cement. The result of the classification tests shows that the soils are A-2-6 and A-7-6 which are the dominant lateritic soil types in Western Niger Delta and are poor for road construction. The unconfined compressive
Strength (UCS) test results revealed that its values increase as the additive content of PSA increases for all the samples. However, the PSA used as a stabilizer has helped to reduce the quantity of cement in modifying the soil from 7 to 5 % in the stabilization of
some of the soils of the Western Niger Delta when PSA is incorporated alongside with the cement to obtain the recommended standard of 1500 KPa for use as road construction materials

DESIGN OF A MAIZE GRINDING MACHINE USING LOW COST STAINLESS STEEL AND DUAL ENERGY SOURCE FOR ALTERNATIVE POWERING

2024-01-29T18:20:59+00:00

The specific objectives were to study existing grinding machines, determine the problems from literature and user perspectives, carry out materials study and design the machine. Secondary and ethnographic data collection were considered in the method from existing machines and users, as well as data of market survey of materials cost, thereafter the use of relevant theories for the design of the machine, and analysis. The hopper capacity of the 8.5kg maize grinding need was found to be 0.011m3 with a sheet thickness of 1mm made from ferritic stainless steel. It was predicted that the machine’s throat would be 0.00057m3 in volume
made from 2mm thick sheet, and the diameter of the shaft passing through it was calculated to be 18mm. 0.5kW was calculated to power the machine using a belt and pulley system. Driver and driven pulley diameters were 30mm and 150mm, with speeds of 1500rpm and 300rpm accordingly, having belt lengths of 1230mm and 1190mm for engine-grinder pulleys and the electric motor-grinder pulleys respectively. The modified dimensions of table height, height from table to centre of grinder pulley, and table length were 441.4mm, 200mm and 800mm respectively

SOLUTION TO FRACTIONAL ORDER ADVECTION-DISPERSION PROBLEMS USING GALERKIN METHOD WITH MAMADU-NJOSEH POLYNOMIALS

2024-01-29T19:03:31+00:00

The advection-dispersion equation is a partial differential equation describing a probability function for the location of particles in continuum. Finding the analytic solution to this equation is very difficult and cumbersome. Thus, in this research, we have considered the numerical approximation of fractional time and space advection-dispersion equation. Specifically, Galerkin Method was adopted as the numerical method with Mamadu-Njoseh polynomials as basis functions to obtain the approximate solution of the fractional adventure-dispersion equation. The study established that the Galerkin method effectively solves fractional order advection-dispersion equation with time and space derivatives and that the method converges rapidly with an increase in the value of the fractional order ????, for ???? = 0.1. The numerical results obtained show that the method converges rapidly to the exact solution

DETERMINATION OF THE EFFECTS OF ROOFTOPS ON THE QUALITY OF RAINWATER COLLECTED IN UGHELLI, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

2024-01-29T18:00:27+00:00

This study was aimed at investigating the effects of roofing materials on water quality, in Ughelli. Random sampling technique was used to collect 42 rainwater samples from different roofing materials made from (asbestos, zinc, aluminium and thatch) including the control (rainwater collected directly from the sky) in Ughelli. The results obtained are as follows; pH ranged from 5.90 –7.00, EC from 63.5 – 9.0 μS/cm, TDS from 41.4–5.9 mg/L, turbidity from 2.84 – 0.21 NTU, total alkalinity from 32.00 – 8.00 mg/L, total hardness from 24.00 – 0.20 mg/L, Cl from 4.79 – 0.29 mg/L, NO3 from 0.09 mg/L – ND, SO4 from 0.4 mg/L - ND, BOD from 1.90 – 1.10 mg/L, COD from 4.32 – 2.62 mg/L, DO from 4.80 – 5.70 mg/L, Ca from 2.112 – 0.042 mg/L, Mg from 4.571 – 0.023 mg/L, Pb from 0.16 - <0.001 mg/L, Fe from 0.470 - 0.008 mg/L, and Cr from 0.047 - < 0.001 mg/L. The results revealed that most of physicochemical parameters of rainwater samples analyzed results were generally below the WHO threshold. Furthermore, the concentration of Pb, Fe and Cr, in the samples ranged from 0.15-0.02 mg/L, 0.218-0.117 mg/L, 0.008- <0.001 mg/L respectively. The study has revealed that the first flush from all the rooftops should not be used for human consumption. However, from the fifth flush and above could be used for domestic purpose but for oral consumption, appropriate water treatment protocol would be required

ON THE EXISTENCE OF CANONICAL FORM IN ALL SQUARE- INTEGRABLE MARTINGALE WITH RESPECT TO {????????(????),???? ∈ ????} IN THE WIENER FUNCTIONAL SPACE UNDER VERY GENERAL CONDITION ON ℳ

2024-01-29T18:51:36+00:00

The Wiener space is the collection of all continuous function on a given domain, taking values in a metric space, and the Wiener functional space has a canonical form of any square- integrable functional in terms of the integrals. This paper attempted to shown the existence of a canonical representation of all square-integrable Martingale with respect to {ℱ????(????), ???? ∈ ℳ} under very general condition on ℳ. The major key here is to define multiple stochastic integral of the form ∫ ????(ℎ1, ℎ2, … . , ℎ????)????(????ℎ) … ????(????ℎ????)
ℋ???? where ???? is (in general) a random integrand ????-adapted in a suitable sense. This was achieved by critically examining a formula for changing a multiple stochastic integrals onto L2 (η,ℱW ????) and adapting an iterated formula, which will be to obtain through the application of iterated integrals.

Hydrogeochemical and Heavy Metals Characterization of River Niger at Lokoja, North Central Nigeria

2024-01-29T17:39:19+00:00

River Niger is the longest river in Nigeria and more likely to be contaminated by anthropogenic activities than groundwater, especially the section situated in urban cities. Surface water that is contaminated has its quality compromised. Consumption
of such water poses serious health challenge. The thrust of the paper is to assess the effect of urbanization on the quality and the suitability for irrigation of the water samples obtained from River Niger. The physiochemical analysis of water sampled collected was analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) and Ion Chromatography. The results showed that 66.7% of water samples have pH that is within the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit. The alkalinity of water samples ranged from 8 to 15mg/l, hardness ranged from 10 to 19.4mg/l. Total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and temperature of the water samples ranged from 25 to 42mg/1, 56 to 78μS/cm and 26 to 31.6℃, respectively. The concentrations of all representative cations and anions, except Mn2+ ion, are within the WHO permissible limit. 83.3% of the samples have Mn2+ concentration below the WHO permissible limit. Also, all the samples have concentration of Cd+ and Pb+ greater than the WHO permissible limit. 50% of samples have nickel concentration greater than the WHO permissible limit while Zn2+ has tolerable concentration in all
samples. Piper diagram plot classified the water samples into Ca-Mg-SO4 water type. The Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) ranged from 0.87 to 1.78, indicating low salinity hazard. This study concludes that although water samples indicate low salinity hazard and are thus good for irrigation, high concentrations of heavy metals observed in the water samples indicate that the surface water in the study area is unsafe for drinking

ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY INDEX FOR BOREHOLES WATER FROM ISOKO NORTH LGA, DELTA STATE NIGERIA

2024-01-29T18:39:14+00:00

The assessment of the water quality index of boreholes water in the Isoko-North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria, was carried using standard laboratory test procedures (ASTM). Assessed water quality parameters (pH, Electrical Conductivity, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Hardness, Bicarbonate, Carbonate, Chloride, Sulphate, Phosphate, Nitrate, Fluoride, Calcium,
Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Iron and Total Coliform) were used to determine the water quality index values. The findings recorded indicated that the water quality index (WQI) at Ozoro1 were 34.90 (dry), and 35.3 (wet); Ozoro 2, 31.20 (dry), 43.90 (wet) and Ofagbe, 29.10 (dry), 41.90 (wet); were good and uninfluenced by season. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference
(p>0.05) in WQI values for both seasons. However, (WQI) values at Otibio, Erawah, Ovrode, and Otor-igho were largely influenced by season, hence decreasing the overall quality of water due to the influence of contaminants present in them. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference (p<0.05) in WQI values for both seasons. Also it was observed that, the quality of borehole water is
influenced by season, anthropogenic, and natural events within the study area. It is recommended that natural events such as floods should be properly managed to prevent groundwater pollution, while water from these boreholes should be subjected to primary water treatment processes before use

ASSESSMENT OF AQUIFER VULNERABILITY TO CONTAMINATION USING A MODIFIED “LAHBUD” MODEL (“AHBD” METHOD) WITHIN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE-EKITI

2024-01-29T17:23:44+00:00

Groundwater vulnerability to contamination risk of the peculiarities of Basement Complex terrain underlain with a major rock type has been studied at Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria using remote sensing and integrated geophysical methods. Modelling of the study region took into account of forty (40) Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) points. Landsat 8 and aeromagnetic data were processed for lineament extraction and composite lineament density generation. Four parameters which include depth to Aquifer (A), Hydraulic conductivity (H), Bedrock relief (B) and lineament Density (D) were identified to affect aquifer vulnerability of the region. The Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in the context of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed for weights of 0.5436 (A), 0.2442 (H), 0.1359 (B) and 0.0763 (D) allocated to each of the parameters accordingly. Normalization of the assigned weight and its consistency was carried out (9.7%). The aquifer vulnerability map (“AHBD” model) of the region was developed. The area was classified into low, moderate and high aquifer vulnerability zones. “AHBD” model was validated with geochemical parameters and the result showed 76% of agreement which justified reliability of the model and the methodology used. Human and constructional activities should be controlled around the high vulnerability zones.