Development of a Compact and Accurate Auto-Update Digital Clock with Real-Time Location Display using Organic Light Emitting Diode and Crystal Oscillator

Research has been going on for a lengthy time on digital clocks but with restraints to auto-updating based totally on location. The objective of the paper is to produce a portable and accurate auto-update digital watch (clock) that shows the real time and the current location of the user with the aid of crystal oscillator to generate clock pulses which interfaced with the GPS modules with organic light-emitting diode (OELD). The system was able to automatically update the co-ordinate of locations whenever the user moves from one place to another, It also auto-update time whenever the battery is removed and reinserted or when switched OFF and then switch ON after sometime. It also eliminate the stretch associated with time adjustment whenever the battery is down and replaced or when the watch is switched OFF and then ON. It performed satisfactorily and as a result, the system can be adapted and integrated to the new technology of modern watch as it can be adopted by the user to locate his/her position at any point in time

Effect of Temperature and Catalyst on Biofuel Yields from Pyrolysis of African Copaiba Balsam (Daniellia Oliveri) Sawdust

The effect of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) on biofuel yields from pyrolysis of Daniellia oliveri sawdust in a fixed bed reactor has been studied. The sawdust was procured from the New Sawmill, along Ilorin-Ibadan expressway, Ogbomoso, South-Western Nigeria. The sample was sundried for three days to reduce its moisture content. Catalytic pyrolysis of the sawdust was performed with different weight percentages of catalyst (10, 20, 30 and 40 wt.%) in the feed. Noncatalytic pyrolysis was also performed for the same temperatures and biofuel yields from both sets of experiments were compared. Char yield increased with an increasing percentage of catalyst and were higher than those from non-catalytic pyrolysis in all but one case, the highest being 49.42% at 500 oC (biomass/catalyst ratio of 60/40) and the lowest, 15.41% at a non-catalytic temperature of 400 oC. Bio-oil yields at 400 and 600 oC followed the same trend up to biomass/catalyst ratio of 70/30 while the yields at 500 oC, though higher than those from noncatalytic experiments in most cases, did not significantly change with an increasing percentage of catalyst. The highest yield of bio-oil (37.64%) was obtained at 600 oC (biomass/catalyst ratio of 90/10) and the lowest (16.41%) at 400 oC (biomass/catalyst ratio of 80/20). Gas yields in most cases decreased with an increasing percentage of catalyst and were all lower than those from non-catalytic experiments, the highest yield (62.77%) obtained at a temperature of 400 oC (noncatalytic) and the lowest (19.73%) at 500 oC (biomass/catalyst ratio of 60/40)

Geochemistry and rare-metal bearing potentials of pegmatites of Gbugbu, Lema and Bishewa areas of North Central Nigeria

The authors acknowledge the immense supports received from the management of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA). Mr. Olufemi Ogedengbe, a retired Director of Economic Geology Department, NGSA was exceptionally supportive in all aspects of this research.   Abstract The pegmatites of Gbugbu, Lema and Bishewa areas belong to the pegmatite belt of North-Central Nigeria which has been prospected for minerals since the early 1940’s. Detailed geological mapping of the pegmatite bodies and sampling of muscovite extracts were carried out, while major, trace and rare earth elements geochemistry were achieved using ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Variation plots of major and trace elements were used to determine the geochemical characteristics of these pegmatite bodies. Structural features of the study area suggest fracture patterns in the Nigerian Basement rocks controlled the distribution of the pegmatites on a regional NW-SE, N-S and NE-SW and minor E-W trends. The pegmatites are peraluminous with major and trace elements pattern indicating similarities with granitic clan of igneous rocks. Qualitative assessment of the pegmatites using K/Rb vs Cs, K/Cs vs Rb, K/Rb vs Rb/Sr, variation plots suggest the majority of the pegmatites are mineralized with Na/K ratio>1 and  belong to the rare metal bearing class with a compositional variation suggesting regional zonation of the pegmatites. Furthermore, these plots suggest the Lema pegmatite field is highly evolved and belong to the Li-Be-Ta Type (III) and Li-Cs-Be-Ta Type (IV) while majority of those in Gbugbu and Bishewa fields belong to the muscovite bearing Type (I) and Be bearing Type (II). It is concluded from this study that the pegmatites of Gbugbu, Lema and Bishewa pegmatite fields have the potentials for rare metal mineralization with alkali and rare alkali fractionation playing significant roles in the mineralization processes. Furthermore, field evidence and Rb vs Sr plot, suggests the pegmatites were emplaced at variable depths of between 20-30km indicating that the Gbugbu and Bishewa pegmatite fields have been extensively eroded and are close to the roots of the primary mineralization exposing mainly the interior pegmatites of the Types I-II. On the other hand, the Lema field which suffered lesser degree of erosion has Type III-IV pegmatite still remaining at the center of a regionally zoned pegmatite body. The significance of this study is that the pegmatites of Gbugbu, Lema and Bishewa areas have potentials for economic mineralization of tantalite, wolframite, cassiterite and columbite. Keywords: Pegmatites, Pnuematolysis, Albitization, Rare-metal, Mineralization, Peraluminous DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-3-15 Publication date:March 31st 2019

Levels of Heavy Metals in Street Vended Fried-Cocoyam (Xanthosoma Sagittifolium) Chips Sold along Sango - Oshodi Expressway Nigeria

Heavy metals have been reported to have positive and negative roles in human life. Eighty samples were purchased from vendors, twelve samples of raw materials and thirty six samples were collected along processing line. The samples were digested carefully and metal elements were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Analyzed iron, lead, cadmium and arsenic in raw materials used by the three processors ranged from 0.000 to 16.010, 0.000 to 0.013, 0.000 to 0.155 and 0.250 to 0.809mg/Kg respectively. Heavy metal contents of samples taken along the processing line ranged from 0.00, 0.222 to 0.226, 0.758 to 0.959 and 0.00 to 0.801 mg/Kg  for lead, arsenic, iron and cadmium respectively. The content of iron, cadmium and arsenic of street vended samples ranged from 0.653 to 0.8, 0.00 to 0.10 and 0.221 to 0.225 mg/kg respectively The results of the present study showed that metal elements except arsenic were within the NIS maximum permitted level (0.1mg/kg for lead, cadmium and arsenic; 1.5mg/kg for iron) by Nigerian Industrial Standard and Codex Alimentarius for street vended food. Keywords: Heavy metals, Street vended food, health, contaminants, Cocoyam, Xanthosoma sagittifolium

Target Analysis of Antibiotic Drugs in Poultry Feedstuff by Solid Phase Extraction and Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Seventy-five poultry feed samples of two feed types were analysed for antibiotic drugs using a simple generic solid phase extraction procedure with dichloromethaneacetonitrile after delipidation with n-hexane. Analytical separation was performed on a Waters Acquity C18 column with gradient elution consisting of water and acetonitrile. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), with positive and negative electrospray ionization methods in the multiple reaction monitoring modes (MRM), was used for the quantification of 21 compounds from six classes including fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, lincosamides, anthelmintics, macrolides and the β-lactams in a single chromatographic run of 14 minutes. All the six classes of the drugs were found in the two feed types at concentration ranging between 0.22 – 1505 ng/g. Sulfadimethoxine, sulfaguanidine, sulfamerazine, and sulfamethoxazole were the major sulfonamides in the two feed types with concentration at the part per million levels. Albendazole, penicillin-G, sulfadiazine, sulfaquinoxaline and sulfixosazole were not detected in the layers mash exclusively fed to laying birds; also, sulfamethazine and sulfamozole were the only two drugs not detected in the growers mash meant for birds raised for meat. Ciprofloxacin, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfamerazine, and sulfaguanidine were the most prominent antibiotic drugs in the two feed types. Results from the present study suggest that feed millers surreptitiously fortify their feeds with antibiotics without declaring same, thus exposing poultry chickens to sub-therapeutic dosages of the drugs. It is evident that self-regulation for safety in the poultry industry should be discouraged thus relevant authorities must take steps to reduce and control the use of antibiotics to protect public health

Novel biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from cobweb as adsorbent for Rhodamine B: equilibrium isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic studies

Abstract This study has investigated the adsorption of Rhodamine B (Rh-B) dye on novel biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from cobweb. The effects of contact time, initial pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage and temperature were studied on the removal of Rh-B and they significantly affected its uptake. Adsorption isotherms were evaluated using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models. The adsorption process was best described by Langmuir isotherm with R 2 of 0.9901, indicating monolayer adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity (q max) of 59.85 mg/g showed that it has relatively high performance, while adsorption intensity showed a favourable adsorption process. Pseudo-second-order kinetics fitted best the rate of adsorption and intra-particle diffusion revealed both surface adsorption and intra-particle diffusion-controlled adsorption process. Negative values of thermodynamic parameters (∆H°, ∆S° and ∆G°) indicated an exothermic and spontaneous adsorption process. The mean sorption energy (E) and activation energy (E a) suggested the uptake of Rh-B onto AgNPs was chemical in nature (chemosorption)

Bioactive compounds’ contents, drying kinetics and mathematical modelling of tomato slices influenced by drying temperatures and time

This study investigated the influence of drying temperature, and time on antioxidant activity, phenolic, flavonoid, lycopene and β – carotene contents of tomato slices. It also evaluated the influence of drying process on drying kinetics, moisture diffusivity and activation energy. Oven processed tomato slices had temperature-dependent significant increase in antioxidant activity at 30 and 60 min, phenolic from 30 to 120 min and lycopene contents from 120 to 300 min. Significantly decreased contents of flavonoid and β – carotene were obtained for oven processed tomato slices with increasing drying temperature and time. Page model accurately predicted the drying process of tomato slices. Similarity between experimentally determined moisture ratio and Page predicted moisture ratio was obtained with high correlation (R2 = 0.9986). Effective moisture diffusivities indicated that drying process of tomato slices was temperature dependent while Arrhenius equation explained the relationship between activation energy and temperature. Keywords: Page model, Drying temperature, Phytochemicals, Moisture diffusivity, Tomato slice

Ethnobotanical Survey of Plants Used in The Management of Peptic Ulcer Diseases in Wukari Metropolis

Peptic ulcer diseases (PUD) are sores formed in soft tissues present in the lining of the digestive tract as a result of excessive stomach acid or inability of the alimentary tract or stomach to protect itself. The increasing surge for plant based drugs in the management of PUD has increased scientific investigation of herbs and recipes from traditional medicinal practitioners (TMP) to ascertain their efficacy through pharmacological studies. Ethnobotanical survey of plants and recipes from TMP used in the management of PUD in Wukari metropolis, Taraba State, Northeastern Nigeria were documented. A total of twenty (20) TMP located in ten (10) different area of the town were interviewed using a semi structured questioner. Twenty-four (24) plant species from twenty (20) different families and sixteen (16) recipes were documented from the survey. It was observed that plant leaves were mostly used while C. longa (Zingberaceae), M. paradisiaca (Musaceae) had the highest frequency of occurrence in recipes formulation. Therefore, due to the proven efficacy of these herbal recipes as reported from correspondents, there is need for proper documentation, conservation, cultivation and use of these medicinal plants in the management of PUD to avoid them being endangered or going into extinction