Organic and Heavy Metal Assessment of Groundwater Sources Around Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation Oil Depot Aba, South-Eastern Nigeria

Organic and heavy metal assessment of groundwater sources around Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) oil depot Aba, South-Eastern Nigeria has been done to assess  the concentration and  spatial distribution of pollutants in the available water sources, since groundwater is the principal source of drinking water in the study area. Fifty eight (58) water samples were collected within the study area, and were subjected to chemical analyses. The result of the analyses revealed that Arsenic conc. (mg/l) ranged between 0-1.35, Copper concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0 - 0.95. Iron concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.09, Mercury concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.014 while Lead concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.4,  Benzene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.5 Ethlybenzene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-1.3, Toluene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.66, Xylene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.32. This study therefore, recommends among others that Since the study indicated that the sources of organic and inorganic pollutants were not restricted to NNPC depot alone, routine monitoring of abandoned underground petroleum tanks, and other petroleum related anthropogenic activities in the area is strongly advocated. Keywords: BTEX, Heavy Metal, NNPC Oil depot, Aba, Groundwate

Evaluation of the Aquifer Characteristics of Nteje and Environs, Anambra Basin, South Eastern, Nigeria

Hydro-geophysical investigation of Nteje in Anambra East Local Government and environs were carried out with a view to ascertaining aquifer characteristics in thirteen (13) communities. Field data revealed four to five geo-electric units consisting of saturated aquiferous zonesmade up of one unconfined and three or four confined aquifers.The predicted watertable ranges from 21.5m to 102m with linear increase from NW to SE of the study area.The Isopach map shows that the aquifer is thicker at the NE and NW parts where there are more clusters of the peak contours when compared to the other parts of the study. The aquifer thickness map shows that there are concentrations of sediments. The transmissivity TC calculated from VES result ranges from 0.4750 m2/day to 61.4161 m2/dayand the conductivity varies from 0.0080 m/day to 1.4907 m/day.This implies that the aquifer at Umeri will be adequate for regional water scheme. KEY WORDS: Geo-electric layers, aquifer, Correlation, Transmissivity

Studies on the Properties of Chitosan-Starch Beads and their Application as Drug Release Materials

In this work, chitosan and blends of chitosan-starch beads were prepared and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (pentane-1,5-dial). The blends were prepared with 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 chitosan-starch ratios. Metformin hydrochloride (N,N-dimethylimidodicarbonimidic diamide hydrochloride), a type 2 diabetis drug, was incorporated into them. The materials were subjected to swellability tests and the effects of time and pH were established. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectrophotometeric (FTIR) analysis was also carried out on the materials and their potentials as drug release systems studied. The results obtained from the FTIR studies showed that the uncrosslinked chitosan-starch bead showed O-H stretching band at 3424cm-1 and N-H band at 1640cm-1. The chitosan-starch bead also showed a band at 597cm-1 corresponding to C-Cl band, due to the presence of metformin hydrochloride in the bead and its O-H stretching band was very strong and broad due to the numerous –OH groups in starch and chitosan. The results of swelling studies showed that the percent swellability of the polymer matrices increased in both the crosslinked and uncrosslinked beads as the amount of starch in them increased. The uncrosslinked chitosan beads had maximum swelling of 83.74%, while its crosslinked analogue had 47.93% in acidic medium (pH 2.06) within the range of test period of 60 minutes. The amount of drug released by the 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 crosslinked chitosan-starch beads (13.90, 13.60, and 12.30mg/L, respectively) was much lower than that of their uncrosslinked analogues (22.50, 20.90, and 16.60mg/L, respectively) after 120 minutes, suggesting that the release of drug is delayed by crosslinking. This suggests that the crosslinked chitosan-starch beads can be used for regulating release of drugs in solid dosages such as beads or tablets.Keywords: chitosan, chitosan-starch beads, drug release, metformin hydrochloride, swellin

Traduction et stylistique : Une analyse de la traduction d'Arrow of God de Chinua Achebe

Les auteurs analysent la traduction a Arrow of God afin de déterminer dans quelle mesure le processus de traduction a influencé le style, voire l'orientation de l'œuvre originale. Us relèvent des cas de modifications de la langue source qui concernent le plus souvent des mots I expressions qui sont contexte-dépendants et concluent que même si, dans l'ensemble, la traduction respecte l'esthétique de l'original, on remarque néanmoins un décentrement. Or, les éléments que l'on violente sont ceux qui participent du style de l'auteur, de ses stratégies particulières, etc. Et c'est en les modifiant, en cherchant à leur imposer une nouvelle individualité, que le traducteur porte atteinte à l'intégrité de l'original.An analysis of the translation of the "Arrow of God" is used to show the extent to which the translation process has influenced the style and general orientation of the original work. The authors cite examples of changes to the source text relating primarily to context dependent words and expressions and conclude that even though in a general sense the translation reflects the esthetics of the original, it has been "decentred". By tampering with the author's style, and giving it a new personality, the translator has violated the integrity of the original

Sustaining a Healthy Environment whilst Utilizing Wastes as Energy Sources: Physicochemical Analysis of Solid Wastes in Awka, Nigeria

The physicochemical properties of solid wastes were determined to unravel the individual components of solid wastes such as density, moisture content, and percentage mass. The chemical composition of each waste component was also determined. Methods adopted in the determination included the load count and mass volume methods, the proximate and ultimate analysis method. Collectively, the percentage chemical constituents were obtained from the different solid waste samples analyzed. Energy values obtained from the constituents are 47.6 and 47.10 kJ/kg when Dulong’s and Davies’ formula were applied, respectively. The results revealed that paper and cardboard, metals, plastics, and wood make up the highest composition in the five major waste dumpsites studied in Awka, Nigeria. It also showed that carbon and oxygen contents are high in most of the solid waste components when compared to other chemical constituents and that these wastes can be converted to useful energy in furtherance of sustainable development

Applications of Iron Oxide-Based Magnetic Nanoparticles in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Bacterial Infections

Applications of Iron Oxide-Based Magnetic Nanoparticles in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Bacterial Infection

Generating Organic Compounds by Retrosynthetic Pathway via Typical Corey’s Synthesis

Several methods exist for the synthesis of alkanes including Corey’s synthesis, Wurtz reaction, reduction of alcohols and aldehydes, Kolbe’s electrolysis, hydrogenation of alkenes, and Grignard reaction. Among the available methods, the age-long Corey’s synthesis presents robust advantages of yielding symmetrical, unsymmetrical, straight chain and branched chain alkanes. Moreover, it allows of generating high yields of alkanes by utilizing primary alkyl halide and an array of lithium dialkyl copper ranging from primary, secondary to tertiary. Corey’s synthesis has also been implicated in the synthesis of various organic compounds such as (+)-taylorione, terminal alkynes, caribenol A, ketones, and aldehydes. In this work, an explanation of the general concept in the Corey’s synthesis is provided. Furthermore, specific examples of Corey’s reactions and modifications are discussed. Finally, an outlook into the benefits of the Corey’s synthesis in present-day organic synthesis is provided, which is expected to enhance the understanding of organic reaction mechanisms for the development of various organic compounds as drugs for treating diseases

Nanoparticle-Based Wound Dressing: Recent Progress in the Detection and Therapy of Bacterial Infections

Bacterial infections in wounds often delay the healing process, and may seriously threaten human life. It is urgent to develop wound dressings to effectively detect and treat bacterial infections. Nanoparticles have been extensively used in wound dressings because of their specific properties. This review highlights the recent progress on nanoparticle-based wound dressings for bacterial detection and therapy. Specifically, nanoparticles have been applied as intrinsic antibacterial agents or drug delivery vehicles to treat bacteria in wounds. Moreover, nanoparticles with photothermal or photodynamic property have also been explored to endow wound dressings with significant optical properties to further enhance their bactericidal effect. More interestingly, nanoparticle-based smart dressings have been recently explored for bacteria detection and treatment, which enables an accurate assessment of bacterial infection and a more precise control of on-demand therapy