Advancing Sustainable Interior Design Through the Use of Tye-Dye and Batik (Àdìrẹ) Fabrics

This paper explores the use of tie-dye and batik fabric as sustainable materials for interior design projects. Based on a survey of 154 interior designers and professionals, the study examines perceptions, preferences, and challenges related to these traditional dyeing techniques. Participants exhibit positive attitudes towards tie-dye and batik fabric, though encountering issues like availability, quality, maintenance, and compatibility. Descriptive and inferential statistics, along with exploratory analyses of open-ended questions, support these findings. The paper highlights implications for sustainable interior design practice and research. Collaborative efforts involving interior designers, manufacturers, suppliers, consumers, educators, policymakers, and stakeholders are recommended to promote the integration of tie-dye and batik fabric for a more environmentally friendly future. Keywords:Batik fabric, Biodegradability, Cultural heritage, Embodied carbon, Energy efficiency, Interior design, Local tie-dye, Sustainable design, Materiality DOI: 10.7176/ADS/106-01 Publication date:August 31st 2023

Reproductive performance of rabbits fed maize-milling waste based diets

The influence of maize-milling waste on the reproductive performance of rabbits was assessed. The treatments comprised of autoclaved and unautoclaved maize-milling waste, groundnut cake/maize meal diets formulated with 0 (I), 25 (II), 50 (III), 75 (IV) and 100% (V) replacement of maize with maize-milling waste. Each of the diets contains 18% crude protein and was unpelleted. There were two parity periods and the duration was 15 weeks. In the first parity period, the conception rates were 33.33, 100, 75, 66.66 and 75% for treatments I, II, III, IV and V, respectively, while the second parity conceptions rates were 50, 75 and 50% for treatments II, III and IV, respectively. No conceptions were observed for treatments I and V. The first breeding trials had abortion rates of 50 and 25% for treatments II and V, respectively. Autoclaved maize-milling waste was used for the second breeding trials. Autoclaving maize milling waste was observed to improve the nutritional value of the diets and neither abortion nor still births were seen for the second parity period. Therefore, simple diet comprising maize-milling waste and groundnut cake can support normal growth and reproduction of rabbits for meat production.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (5), pp. 437-443, 200

Assessment of Heavy Metals Level in Soil and Vegetables Grown in Peri-Urban Farms around Osun State and the Associated Human Health Risk

Farming around urban centres (peri-urban farming) is a major source of fresh crop produce, notably vegetables. However, the limitation of land resources and the associated high level of soil contamination from domestic and industrial pollutants are major concerns for the safety of food materials from peri-urban farms. Thus, this study investigated heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) concentration in soil and vegetable samples (Amaranthus hybridus and Corchorus olitorius) collected from selected peri-urban farms with a view to providing information on the human health risks associated with consumption of peri-urban vegetables.This study showed that the concentration of investigated heavy metals in the soils of peri-urban farms were within the background range for farming set by FAO/WHO (2002) and EU (2006) while appreciable level of these metals were observed in vegetable samples. Arsenic concentration was below detection limit in all samples. Amaranthus showed higher retention capacity for the assayed heavy metals except Cu. Transfer Factor values showed metal uptake by vegetables in the order Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu. The estimated daily intake showed that the highest consumption of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were from Amaranthus. The Health risk index showed high values for Cd and Pb but low values for Cu and Zn for both Amaranthus and Corchorus. The results obtained in this study regarding the hazard index indicate that vegetables grown in selected peri-urban farms are not safe for consumption

A MODIFIED GENERALIZED CHAIN RATIO IN REGRESSION ESTIMATOR

Generalized Chain ratio in regression type estimator is efficient for estimating the population mean. Many authors have derived a Generalized Chain ratio in regression type estimator. However, the computation of its Mean Square Error (MSE) is cumbersome based on the fact that several iterations have to be done, hence the need for a modified generalized chain ratio in regression estimator with lower MSE. This study proposed a modified generalized chain ratio in regression estimator which is less cumbersome in its computation. Two data sets were used in this study. The first data were on tobacco production by tobacco producing countries with yield of tobacco (variable of interest), area of land and production in metric tonnes as the auxiliary variables. The second data were the number of graduating pupils (variable of interest) in Ado-Odo/Ota local government, Ogun state with the number of enrolled pupils in primaries one and five as the auxiliary variables. The mean square errors in the existing and proposed estimators for various values of alpha were derived and relative efficiency was determined. The MSE for the existing estimator of tobacco production gave six values 0.0080, 0.0079, 0.0080, 0.0082, 0.0087 and 0.0093 with 0.0079 as the minimum while the proposed estimator gave 0.0054. The MSEs for the existing estimator for the graduating pupils were 20.73, 11.08, 7.49, 9.96, 18.50 and 33.10 with 7.49 as the minimum while the proposed was 6.52. The results of this study showed that the proposed estimator gave lower MSE for the two data sets, hence it is more efficient.     &nbsp

The Effect of Temperature on the Clarification of Apple (MALUS DOMESTICA) Juice with Pecinase obtained from ASPERGILLUS NIGER

Aspergillus niger is a saprophytic fungus existing ubiquitously in the soil and on decaying vegetation. Various researchers have reported Aspergillus niger as frequently responsible for postharvest decay of fresh fruits such as apples, pears, grapes, melons, onions and some vegetables. The fungus has been implicated in the deterioration of apple fruits with the production of Pectinolytic enzymes during the breakdown of the plant cell wall by microbial attack. The three varieties of apple (Malus domestica) fruits used for this work are commonly referred to as Red, Green and Yellow varieties from their physical appearance. The fruits were obtained from a grocery store along Idiroko road, Ota, Ogun State in Nigeria. The fruits were disinfected and inoculated with a 72-h-old culture of A. niger. Control fruits were inoculated with sterile inoculum. The fruits were incubated at room temperature of 27oC for twelve days. Extracts from the inoculated fruits exhibited appreciable polygalacturonase activity while those from the uninoculated fruits possessed only traces of the enzyme activity. The enzyme obtained from the deteriorated fruits and commercially produced pectinase were applied for the clarification of freshly ripe apple fruits under controlled experimental conditions at different temperatures (20oC, 25oC, 30oC, 35oC, 40oC and 45oC) to investigate the role of pectinase in the clarification of apple juice. The temperature of incubation had different effects on the three varieties of apple fruits studied. The volume of juice was more in the cylinders with the enzyme clarification at all temperatures than that with water. The optimum temperature was at 25oC for the three varieties green and red apples. The commercial pectinase produced more juice than the crude pectinase

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman Disease): Report of a case in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML) is a rare, benign disease of unknown aetiology. This disease typically presents with massive, painless cervical lymphadenopathy but may occur in a wide variety of extranodal sites. This report describes a 43-year old man with a left submandibular swelling and left lateral cervical lymphadenopathy clinically suggestive of a malignancy. Initial cytological examination of a fine needle aspirate specimen taken from the mass suggested a chronic granulomatous inflammatory lesion. A definitive diagnosis of SHML was however made only after excisional biopsy of the lesion. The patient was followed up for 6 months and no recurrence of the lesion was observed. SHML may be considered a rare lesion among Nigerians. Knowledge of its clinical presentation with understanding of the differentials diagnosis is important to avoid unnecessary intervention. The diagnosis can be made from FNAC, histopathology and immune-histochemistry. There is no ideal protocol for the treatment. Follow-up is however necessary to detect relapses

Effect of phases of the menstrual cycle on biophysical and biochemical parameters of African black women with breast cancer

INTRODUCTION: Many studies on female breast cancer patients do not consider the differences between the follicular and luteal phases when collecting blood samples for laboratory investigations. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effects of the phases of the menstrual cycle on reproductive and thyroid hormones, endocrine disruptors, blood pressure, and body adiposity. METHODS: Participants (n=107) aged 28-50 years, comprising 54 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (cases were menstrual phase and age-matched to 53 seemingly healthy women without breast cancer that served as controls. Anthropometric indices and blood pressure (BP) were obtained. Serum hormones-estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), stimulating follicle hormone (FSH), and free thyroxine (FT4) were quantified by enzyme immunoassay. Endocrine disruptors (EDs)- arsenic, lead and cadmium were quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient with p<0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: Bodyweight, hip circumference, waist-height ratio, and FT3 varied between the luteal and follicular phases, higher in cases than controls. EDs were significantly higher in cases than controls in both phases. Progesterone, estradiol and LH levels were significantly higher in luteal cases and controls when compared with follicular cases and controls.FT3 was significantly lower in luteal controls compared with follicular controls. There were significant direct and inverse correlations among adiposity measures, BP, EDs, and hormones in each phase in both cases and controls. CONCLUSION: The menstrual cycle appears to influence blood pressure, measures of adiposity, endocrine disruptors, and reproductive hormones in women with normal and cancerous breasts. This requires consideration in the collection of blood samples for investigations of these parameters