A novel index for the study of synergistic effects during the co-processing of coal and biomass

In this study, synergistic interaction between coal and biomass and its intensity were investigated systematically using a low rank coal and its blends with different biomass samples at various blending ratios. The catalytic effects of minerals originated from biomass were also studied. It was found that some of the minerals existing in the ash derived from oat straw catalysed the combustions process and contributed to synergistic interactions. However, for the coal and rice husk blends, minimal improvements were recorded even when the biomass and coal blending ratio was as high as 30 wt%. Biomass volatile also influenced the overall combustion performance of the blends and contributed to synergistic interactions between the two fuels in the blends. Based on these findings, a novel index was formulated to quantify the degree of synergistic interactions. This index was also validated using data extracted from literature and showed satisfactory correlation coefficients. It was found that at a blending ratio of 30 wt% oat straw in the blend, the degree of synergistic interaction between coal and oat straw showed an additional SF value of 0.25 with non-catalytic and catalytic synergistic effect contributing 0.16 (64%) and 0.09 (36%) respectively. This index could be used in the selection of proper biomass and proper blending ratio for co-firing at coal-fired power stations aiming at improving the combustion performance of poor quality coals via enhancing synergistic interactions during co-processing

Development of Bioinformatics Infrastructure for Genomics Research:

Although pockets of bioinformatics excellence have developed in Africa, generally, large-scale genomic data analysis has been limited by the availability of expertise and infrastructure. H3ABioNet, a pan-African bioinformatics network, was established to build capacity specifically to enable H3Africa (Human Heredity and Health in Africa) researchers to analyze their data in Africa. Since the inception of the H3Africa initiative, H3ABioNet's role has evolved in response to changing needs from the consortium and the African bioinformatics community

Antibacterial activity of extracts of Alchornea cordifolia (Schum and Thonn) Mull.Arg., Boerhavia diffusa (L) and Bridellia micranthaI (Hoscht) Baill. used in traditional medicine in Nigeria on Helicobacter pylori and four diarrhoeagenic bacterial pathoge

Extracts of leaves of Alchornea cordifolia, Boerhavia diffusa and Bridellia micrantha were investigated for antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella flexneri and Enteroheamorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). Results showed that the ethanolic extracts of the three plants and aqueous extracts inhibited the growth of all the organisms tested. However, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged between 15.6 and 31.25 mg/ml while the extracts were bacteriocidal at concentration ranging between 31.25 and 250 mg/ml. This indicates that leaf extracts of the three plants are of great potential in treating gastric ulcer and diarrhoea caused by theaforementioned bacteria

Nutrient Utilization, Growth and Carcass Performance of Broiler Chickens Fed Graded Levels of Kolanut Husk

The effect of feeding kolanut husk meal (KHM) at five levels (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200g/kg) on growth performance and apparent nutrient digestibility of Anak 2000 broiler chicks was investigated. Weight gain and feed/gain were reduced (P<0.05) with increased level of KHM in the diets. Feeding of KHM decreased (P<0.05) nitrogen retention, dry matter, ether extract and ash apparent digestibility of the diets while crude fibre digestibility increased. No significant effect was found for feed intake but protein intake and protein efficiency ratio decreased (P<0.05) with increased KHM in the diets. Alkaline phosphatase, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate pyrurate transaminase and urea increased (P<0.05) with the levels of KHM in the diets while serum protein decreased with increased KHM levels. Carcass measurements indicated a significant (P<0.05) decrease in dressing percent, drumstick, breast and abdominal fat while weight of heart, liver and gizzard increased with KHM inclusion in the diet. Cost of feed reduced (P<0.05) with increased KHM level but the cost of feed per kg weight gain increased

A deep population reference panel of tandem repeat variation.

Tandem repeats (TRs) represent one of the largest sources of genetic variation in humans and are implicated in a range of phenotypes. Here we present a deep characterization of TR variation based on high coverage whole genome sequencing from 3550 diverse individuals from the 1000 Genomes Project and H3Africa cohorts. We develop a method, EnsembleTR, to integrate genotypes from four separate methods resulting in high-quality genotypes at more than 1.7 million TR loci. Our catalog reveals novel sequence features influencing TR heterozygosity, identifies population-specific trinucleotide expansions, and finds hundreds of novel eQTL signals. Finally, we generate a phased haplotype panel which can be used to impute most TRs from nearby single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with high accuracy. Overall, the TR genotypes and reference haplotype panel generated here will serve as valuable resources for future genome-wide and population-wide studies of TRs and their role in human phenotypes