A plant-based natural surfactant for enhanced oil recovery application

It is generally known that only one-third of the petroleum present in known reservoirs can be recovered economically using established technology. To improve the recovery of oil from these reservoirs various Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods have been tested and implemented worldwide. One of the most widely used methods is surfactant flooding. The use of synthetic surfactant usually has serious environmental and financial implications, which have made it important to find new surfactants to solve these problems. In this study, saponin was extracted from the leaves of Vernonia Amygdalina by ultra-sonication and used to formulate surfactant solutions capable of achieving low interfacial tension (IFT). Saponins are a group of naturally occurring plant glycosides, characterized by their strong foam-forming properties in aqueous solution. In addition, the effect of the surfactant solution on the IFT and emulsion stability of the surfactant solution as well was evaluated. Finally, oil displacement efficiency of the formulated surfactant solution was examined and compared. The surfactant solution can effectively emulsify oil and could reduce the IFT with crude oil from 18 mN/m to 3.9 mN/m. The displacement experiments through 100 – 170 mD sandstone cores indicated that the EOR could reach 11.2% OOIP by the surfactant flooding after water flooding. The newly formulated surfactant based on saponin extract from Vernonia Amygdalina can efficiently enhance oil recovery after water flooding. This work adds Vernonia Amygdalina to the list of plant-based surfactant to be used in the petroleum industry

Randomized controlled trial comparing post operative pain outcome between suture and tissue glue wound apposition post-circumcision in the pediatric age group

Introduction: Circumcision is one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures in the male population. Of the various circumcision techniques, sutures and tissue glue are utilized for wound closure in the free-hand techniques. Locally, sutures are routinely used for wound closure in the free-hand techniques. Whilst there are studies comparing the two wound apposition techniques using various outcomes, pain as a primary outcome comparing the two has been poorly researched. One hypothesis is that local ischemia at the suture site contributes to post-circumcision pain. It is against this background that we sought to explore differences in pain between these two methods of wound apposition. Method: This was a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing post-operative pain following tissue glue and suture wound apposition post-circumcision. Secondary objectives were to establish the difference in post-operative bleeding, wound dehiscence and duration of surgery between the two interventions. Eligible participants were male children between 2 and 12 years coming for circumcision at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi from September 2021 to April 2022. They were allocated into the two intervention arms of sutures versus tissue glue following simple randomization. Duration of surgery was noted in the operation notes and populated in the data sheet. At 24 and 48 hours post-operatively, the Parents Post-Operative Pain Measure questionnaire was administered telephonically to assess pain. A pain score of more than or equal to 6 out of 15 was considered clinically significant. Outcomes of bleeding and wound dehiscence were obtained at the post-operative clinic review and populated on the data sheet. A small sample analysis was done. Continuous data was expressed as means ± standard deviation and differences between groups were assessed using the student’s t-test. Results: Eighteen patients were analyzed in the present study with twelve in the suture arm and six in the tissue glue arm. The mean age of the participants was 6 ½ years (Range 2- 11years, SD 2.55). The mean level of pain at 24 hours was 1.3 (SD 1.55) and 0 at 48 hours. There was a statistically significant difference in pain in patients with suture apposition compared to glue apposition (t (16) = 2.066, p = 0.045). This was, however, not clinically significant given as the mean level of pain was less than the clinically significant level of 6 as indicated on the Parents Post-Operative Pain Measure questionnaire. There was no bleeding noted in either groups at one week. Wound dehiscence was noted in one patient in the glue apposition group. However, this was not statistically significant when the two groups were compared (t (16) = 1.46, p = 0.16). The mean duration of surgery in the glue group was found to be slightly longer compared to the suture group (26.5 versus 21.3 minutes). However, this did not reflect a significant statistical difference (t (16) = -1.418, p = 0.175) Conclusion: In view of the limited sample size, the present study’s results may not be generalizable. The trends from the small sample analysis suggests that despite there being a statistically significant difference in pain, there was no clinically significant difference in post-operative pain during the first 24 – 48 hours, with more patients complaining of pain in the suture apposition group. The trends in the present study similarly demonstrated no statistically significant difference in post-operative bleeding rates, duration of surgery as well as wound dehiscence rates between the two groups

Food sovereignty and the challenges of agro-ecological farming: a case study of Hammarsdale, Durban.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The purpose of this study is to contribute to the debate on one of the Food Sovereignty principles; agro-ecology. Agro-ecological farming which is primarily practiced by small-scale farmers is used as an example to explore how viable and sustainable it is as a method of farming in small communities. There is very limited data on food sovereignty and the nature of agro-ecology being practised as a method of farming in small communities. Consequently, with Food Sovereignty being a framework on its own, it was adopted as a theoretical foundation for this study, for its relevance. The aim of this study is to assess the nature and potential of agro-ecological farming methods and their implications (consequences, effects) for food sovereignty in Mpumalanga Township, Hammarsdale. This aim was achieved by commissioning in-depth interviews and focus group discussions as a qualitative data collection method, which was appropriate to deliver the perceptions and understandings of the farmers who farm using the principal of food sovereignty being agro-ecology. The objectives of the study are to understand the history, motivations, knowledge and practices of agro-ecological farmers in Mpumalanga Township, Hammarsdale. To investigate the reasons why farmers participate in agro-ecological farming. To examine the opportunities and barriers of agro-ecological farming. To assess the barriers of agro-ecological farming experienced by small-scale farmers in that area. To examine the different knowledge’s that farmers use for agro-ecological farming purposes (indigenous, western, and others). The findings suggest small-scale farmers who use the method of farming agro-ecologically are burdened by the barriers and challenges of farming agro-ecologically. These barriers and challenges include not having sufficient water for their food plants, lack of resources such as tools, access to land and the market to trade their produce. Although the farmers received assistance from local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as LIMA and Food Tree’s, it was not enough to sustain them throughout every season of sowing and harvesting. The study also found out that the farmers who participated in this study had sentimental associations with agro-ecological farming. This is because from an early age, the farmers and their families practiced agro-ecological farming. Therefore, to them agro-ecological farming simply meant farming organically and only using natural constituents and not chemicals; while also ensuring that the environment is taken care of and the food produced does not pose any health hazards to the consumers

Perceptions of Happiness and Its Determinants An Intergenerational Study of What People Think about Money and Happiness

This study examines people’s perceptions of happiness. Specifically, it seeks to define the determinants of happiness, with a focus on the link between happiness and financial state. Of particular interest is an examination of differences in attribution (if any) on this issue between disparate age groups. An online questionnaire was created and then completed by 538 total participants. Belief that money can buy happiness was tested in two different ways: the Measure of Materialistic Attitudes Scale from the Handbook of Marketing, and the Money-Happiness scale, which was generated for this research. The study also evaluated people’s happiness levels using a device patterned after the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Hills 2002). The results suggested that as age increases, the tendency to believe that money buys happiness decreases. Furthermore, males are more likely than females to believe that the material possessions that money can buy will bring them increased happiness. In addition, the younger generation is more likely than the older generation to believe that achievement increases happiness while the older generation puts more importance on religious or spiritual beliefs and practices for increases in happiness. This research helps add to a growing research interest in understanding sources of personal contentment

Gender (Mis)-Representation: in Defense of Feminist Language

Gender studies has produced new discoveries about the psychology of men and women alike in terms of attitude, character and emotional leaning.  The women-folk seem to be at the receiving end of the findings as they are often labeled as inherently emotional and irrational in their choice of words and actions.  This paper inquires whether this (mis)representation of women is in tandem with the results on ground that argue that both gender use language differently (Lakoff 1975; Holmes 1984; Baron 1986; Coates 2004). The paper concludes that feminist expressions through words is not to be interpreted as a deficiency, but an emotional outburst of their humanity, just like it occurs in men too and that both gender complement rather than diminish the other. Keywords: Emotion, Feminism, Gender, Deficiency, (Mis) representation, Stereotype, Language. DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/53-0

THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA

Education is universally viewed as the vehicle that is capable of importing and exporting transformational behavior, growth and sustainability of nation’s wealth. It is a channel to articulate new ideas, thought and futuristic aspirations of an individual and nation at large. Nigeria has witnessed several educational reforms as evidenced in the number of revisions of her National Policy on Education. . However ,with  the growing trend of the global education which entails the use of Science/Technology and Information Communication Technology (ICT) and where the communication infrastructure like telephone, fax, e-mail and computer networking have turned the world into a global village, Nigeria Teacher Education has been placed at a disadvantaged position. This paper therefore adopted the use of historical approach to argue out the contentious issues involved.  It further observed with dismay that inconsistencies in government policy formulation and haphazard implementation of such policies have sufficiently affected the quality of education delivery in Nigeria. It therefore suggests that the regulatory bodies or agencies responsible for the training of Teachers in Nigeria should embark on aggressive reforms in order to re-direct Teacher Education in Nigeria to meet global expectations. It finally submits that since education is the only valuable asset a nation can offer to her citizens, politics should not be brought to bear on anything that has to do with it in order to avoid a situation whereby, the future of the citizens is jeopardized educationally.&nbsp

The influence of cultural constraints on comprehension among second language (L2) learners: Implications for language teaching and learning

Very many factors have been found to influence second language learning. For instance, affective factors such as attitude, motivation and personality have usually been acknowledged to play important role in second language learning. Other factors include environmental factors which could be geographical and/or cultural. This discourse reviewed the various ways in which cultural constraints and cultural differences impede comprehension among second language (L2) learners. Emphasis was on listening, reading, pragmatics and viewing comprehension. It was recommended that language teacher apply strategies and techniques like infantilization, dramatization, excursion, audio and visual resources to concretize their lessons. Also, to bridge the cultural gap between the second language learner and the culture of the target language, acculturation or immersion programme is recommended. This is to ensure deeper contact between the learner and the culture, native speakers and the target language.Key Words: culture, comprehension and second language learnin

The role of intergovernmental relations in service delivery: a case study of the community development worker programme within the Umsunduzi local municipality and Ugu district municipality.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2019.South Africa is a society that is characterised by various inequalities as a result of the apartheid system. The advent of democracy came with promises of equality and a better life for all through, among others, improved delivery of services; however, these have not come to fruition. Citizens remain in poverty due to a range of factors. This has led to the country witnessing regular service delivery related protests which are a manifestation of dissatisfaction with a slow pace of service delivery. The Community Development Worker Programme (CDWP) was introduced to address the challenges of poor service delivery and to empower communities through improved and accelerated delivery of services. The programme ensures that the activities of the three spheres of government are coordinated and integrated to achieve a holistic delivery of services. The success of the programme is therefore dependent on the cooperation of the three spheres of government; hence intergovernmental relations (IGR) is vital to the success of the programme. Since its inception, the CDWP’s success in achieving its mandate is yet to be attested to, as witnessed by the ever increasing number of service delivery protests. As IGR has been identified as one of the major contributor to the programme’s inability to deliver on its mandate, this study was undertaken to understand the role of IGR in serviced delivery and also to investigate the IGR factors that affect the success of the CDWP. In exploring these factors, the study employed a qualitative research design wherein a case study method was used as a strategy of inquiry. The sample of the study consisting of senior managers for municipalities, Community Development Workers (CDWs), local councilors, ward committee members and ordinary community members were selected purposively from the population of Ugu district and Umsunduzi local municipalities. Data was collected using structured one-on-one and focus group interviews as methods of data collection. The data was analysed using thematic analysis technique. The findings of the study have indicated that IGR plays a vital role in promoting co-operative government amongst the three spheres of government within the CDWP. The findings further identify IGR factors and elements which affect the success of the programme. The study concludes by recommending the promotion of cooperative government by establishing strategies for continuous involvement of all employees in IGR activities. It further recommends the promotion of IGR as part the performance agreements for senior managers. Lastly, the study recommends the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework for IGR implementation