Bioremediation of oil-polluted soil by Lentinus subnudus, a Nigerian white-rot fungus

Inspite of the realization and studies on the use of microorganisms in degrading hydrocarbons there has been very little work on indigenous white-rot fungi in Nigeria, a leading oil – producing country. the ability of Lentinus subnudus to mineralize soil contaminated with various concentrations of crude oil was tested. Organic matter and carbon were higher than the control at all concentrations of crude oil contamination in soils inoculated with L. subnudus for 3 months. Nutrient contents were generally higher after 6 months of incubations except potassium levels which were not significantly different from the control. As for the total petroleum hydrocarbon (tph) in crude – oil contaminated soils; the highest rate of biodegradation was at 20% concentration after 3 months and 40% after 6 months of incubation.Key words: bioremediation, crude oil, total petroleum hydrocarbon oil-polluted soil, Lentinus subnudusAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (8), pp. 796-79

Biodegradation of Three Agricultural Wastes by a White-Rot Fungus, Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fries) Quelet

Abstract: Studies were carried out on the degradation of cotton waste, rice straw and cocoa pod husks using Pleurotus pulmonarius in cultures incubated for 0-60 days. The proximate composition, percentages of nitrogen, carbon, potassium and phosphorus, pH, lignin contents, organic matter and enzyme production were determined using the substrates degraded by P. pulmonarius. Crude protein increased significantly throughout the incubation period from 1.27% in the control to 12.63% in cotton waste, 6.65% to 14.82% in rice straw and in cocoa pod husk from 7.04% to 13.82%. Crude fibre decreased significantly in cotton waste and cocoa husk from 5.88% to 5.31% and from 39.88% to 34.95% respectively but an increase was observed in rice straw from 18.42% in control to 28.08% after 60days of incubation period. The nutrient contents, pH values, organic matter showed significant differences of (P≤0.05) in the three substrates as the days of fermentation increased. Lignin contents of treated cotton waste and cocoa husk were degraded by Pleurotus pulmonarius but an increase was observed in the rice straw. Cellulase activities decreased significantly in contrast to the lignase activities where a consistent increase was observed on the degraded substrates as the incubation period increased

Parity and breastfeeding are protective against breast cancer in Nigerian women

As the relation between reproductive factors and breast cancer risk has not been systematically studied in indigenous women of sub-Saharan Africa, we examined this in a case–control study in Nigeria. In-person interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires to collect detailed reproductive history in 819 breast cancer cases and 569 community controls between 1998 and 2006. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Compared with women with menarcheal age <17 years, the adjusted OR for women with menarcheal age ⩾17 years was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.54–0.95, P=0.02). Parity was negatively associated with risk (P-trend=0.02) but age at first live birth was not significant (P=0.16). Importantly, breast cancer risk decreased by 7% for every 12 months of breastfeeding (P-trend=0.005). It is worth noting that the distribution of reproductive risk factors changed significantly from early to late birth cohorts in the direction of increasing breast cancer incidence. Our findings also highlight the heterogeneity of breast cancer aetiology across populations, and indicate the need for further studies among indigenous sub-Saharan women

Morphological and molecular assessment of mushroom (Lentinus Squarrosulus) (mont.) Singer

Lentinus squarrosulus is a popular mushroom in Nigeria used for traditional medicine apart from food. The identification of those high-quality fungal species is not only necessary but has great economic significance as it will allow product distributors to verify the material they are selling. Hence, this study investigated the morphological and molecular relationship among L. squarrosulus samples from different locations in Ibadan. Ten samples of L. squarrosulus were collected from nine different natural habitats in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, from which pure cultures were prepared. Isolation of DNA was done from fruiting bodies of fresh samples evaluated. Ten primers were designed from ITS sequences of the Family Agariceae and used for the study. The ten mushrooms evaluated in the study showed diverse morphological features such as colour of cap and pileus, size of stipe and pileus. A total of 50 amplicons were generated of which 31 bands (62%) were polymorphic. The RAPD variety-specific products were generated in some of the genotypes evaluated which can serve as unique identifiers. The study showed mean values for marker gene diversity of 0.27, Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) of 0.25 and 63.81% polymorphism. Both morphological and molecular analyses revealed two clustered groups. Number and types of samples in each group were not the same in both studies. The presence of unique band pattern among sampled fungi evaluated showed the discriminating power of the primer Ast-F in the study. Keywords: Polymorphism, DNA, RAPD, Fungi, Gene diversity characterizatio

Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase Enzymes in Clinical Isolates of Enterobacter Species from Lagos, Nigeria

Over a 9-month period, 8 of 40 nonduplicate isolates of Enterobacter spp. producing extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) were detected for the first time from two hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria. Microbiologic and molecular analysis confirmed the presence of ESBL. Only four isolates transferred ESBL resistance as determined by the conjugation test, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed genetically unrelated isolates

THERMODYNAMIC EVALUATION OF A LOW-PRESSURE FISH DRYER

Fish products are major sources protein supplements for human nourishment composing of low - fat diet cherished by consumers for health wise consequence. Quite substantial amount of this products during harvest cum handling are lost to spoilage due to lack of short time drying technology systems and untimely removal of moisture content amidst activities of bacteria. The inappropriate and inadequate processing methods must be eliminated by providing advance short time drying outfits to assist the local processors to stall the activities of bacteria orchestrating fish spoilage. To meet this short time drying needs and increase fish storability and shelf life for overall good productivity, an indigenous affordable vacuum dryer was conceived and developed locally. The unit was fabricated using locally sourced materials and was tested on water cans and cat fish samples.&nbsp; A constant vacuum head of 3.6 KPa was attained at pumping rate of 320 l/hr, at observed temperature range of 38 and 42oC, energy and power level of 498.6 KJ and 13.6W with an effective moisture diffusivity 8.41×10-7m2/s and 2.05×10-7m2/s were recorded for the fish samples; gutted and un-gutted respectively dried within 10 hours. Total moisture content removal efficiency of 85% was attained This method of drying was very effective in drying the fish samples but still requires further optimization studies to scale up the unit for commercial purpose