A review on biogas production as the alternative source of fuel

Challenges related to energy shortages are increasingly frequent both at the local and global scale due to population growth and the desire for a greater standard of living. The growing demand for oil and natural gas caused by high consumption levels is one of the current major problems faced by the world population. Therefore, new forms of energy generation must be investigated that would eventually allow the diversification of the present energy matrix, which has an almost 90% dependence on fossil fuels the world over. This coupled with long-term economic and environmental concerns have resulted in a great amount of research in the past decades on renewable sources of liquid fuels to replace fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil releases carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a major cause of global warming. It is anticipated that not a single source of alternative energy but a mix of various energy sources and carriers will contribute to the energy system of the future. Among the various sources been explored, biogas offer one of the best alternative options as they present a viable option for improving sustainable development through energy security and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. This paper elaborates on Biogas production as the alternative source of fuel. The paper also studies the importance of Biogas production as a means of reducing problem of power energy, environmental vandalism, loss of resources, climate change and also reduce environmental pollution caused by burning of woods, cars, motorcycle and industrial activities

Assessment of Radiological Hazards Indices in Vegetables Grown Around Ririwai Tin Mines, Kano State, North Western Nigeria

Mining industry in Nigeria provides economic benefits of wealth creation and employment opportunities. Presently there are numbers of artisanal and large scale mining activities going on across Nigeria and most of these artisanal miners currently under take only surface mining. The process produced large volumes of tailings and waste that may contain naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). Some of the NORMs are soluble in water and have the tendency to leach into water bodies and farm lands.    This work assessed the radiological hazard indices in vegetable grown around Ririwai Tin Mine Kano State North Western Nigeria using Direct Gamma Spectroscopy (NaI (Tl)), The results shows that the mean activity concentration in vegetable samples were 259.25±4.77, 28.05±4.97 and 54.56±2.58Bq/kg respectively for 40K, 226Ra and 232Th, the mean absorbed dose rate was 45.043±1.98nGyh-1 the mean committed effective dose for 40K is 0.091±0.002mSv/year, 226Ra has a mean committed effective dose of 0.471±0.083mSv/year while 232Th has a mean committed effective dose of 0.753±0.036mSv/year. The total committed effective dose in vegetable has a mean value of 1.320±0.125mSv/year. The risk estimated for fatality cancer, lifetime  fatality cancer risk, severe hereditary effect and life time hereditary effect in vegetable were 7.26 x 10-5, 5.29 x 10-3, 2.60 x 10-6 and 1.84 x 10-4 respectively. The values obtained in this study are relatively high such that consumption of vegetable grown in the area could pose  radiological health hazards. Keywords: Activity Concentrations, Absorbed dose, Committed effective dose, Risk

Prenylation of Aromatic Secondary Metabolites: A New Frontier for Development of Novel Drugs

Prenylation of aromatic secondary metabolites is an important process involved in the biosynthesis of many biologically active compounds in plants and animals. Many prenylated natural products have been shown to exhibit very good anti-tumor, anti inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. The addition of prenyl side chain to an aromatic secondary metabolite often affects its pharmacological activity. The aim of this review is to examine the influence of the prenyl side chain on the pharmacological activities of some classes of aromatic secondary metabolites and the potential application of prenylation in the development of novel drugsKeywords: Secondary metabolite, Prenylation, Aromatic, Ras antagonist, Novel drugs

Phytochemical analysis, proximate composition and antibacterial activities of Ziziphus Species (Z. jujube and Z. spina christi)

Despite tremendous progress in human medicines infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites are still a major threat to public health. Their impact is particularly large in developing countries due to relative unavailability of medicines and emergence of widespread drugs resistance (Zampini 2009).The aim and objectives of this research work was designed to carried out the Phytochemical analysis, proximate composition and evaluate the antimicrobial activities of the Ziziphus jujube and Ziziphus spina christi leaves against clinical bacterial isolates (Escherichia coli, Staphloccoccus  aureus and Klebsiella  pneumoniae) as they were found out that since ancient times to date, they are used in treating various antimicrobial, ailmentand disorders etc. The results of the research shows that, the effect of antibacterial activities of both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ziziphus jujube (e extract conc. aqueous; F=119.37, Bacterial extract conc. aqueous; F=1.00 and extract conc. ethanol; F=15.74, Bacterial extract conc. ethanol; F=0.59) are reciprocal proportional to their counterpart, Ziziphus spina-christi (extract conc. aqueous; F=54.96, Bacterial extract conc. aqueous; F=0.94 and extract conc. ethanol; F=81.11, Bacterial extract conc. ethanol; F=1.37). In sum, the minimum inhibitory concentration of Ziziphus jujube shows that, the aqueous extract has M.I.C at range of 11.7 to 8.7mg/ml on all tested bacteria but the ethanolic extract has M.I.C of 14.8 to 8.2mg/ml range on E.coli, Klepsiella spp and S. aureus. While, the minimum inhibitory concentraton of Ziziphus spina-christi shows that the M.I.C of aqueous extract range of 12.8 to 8.3mg/ml on E. coli, Klepsiella spp and S.aureus. But, Ziziphus spina-christi M.I.C of ethanolic extract is 13.5 to 8.8mg/ml on all the tested bacteria. In sum, Zizuphus spina-christi has lower nutritional content and low MIC ethanolic extract than that of Ziziphus jujube

Efficacy of Low‑dose Suxamethonium in Reducing Induction Dose of Propofol for Laryngeal Mask Airway Insertion in Nigerian Adults

Background: Propofol is commonly used as a sole induction agent during laryngeal mask airway (LMA)  insertion, and additional doses are often required with systemic consequences. Objective: Our study evaluated the effect of 0.1 mg/kg suxamethonium on the dose of induction of propofol when used during insertion of LMA. Methodology: Eighty patients aged between 18 and 60 years were included in this prospective study. Patients undergoing elective  procedures under general anaesthesia with LMA and spontaneous ventilation were randomized into two groups. Patients in both groups were induced with an initial dose of 2.5 mg/kg of propofol; the control group (group P) and the second group (group S) received 5 ml of normal saline and 0.1 mg/kg of suxamethonium made up to 5 ml, respectively. The need for additional doses of propofol following  insertion of LMA was then assessed based on insertion conditions (ease of insertion, severity of airway response in terms of coughing, gagging, laryngospasm, and patient movement). The total dose of propofol required before successful insertion was recorded, as well as the incidence and duration of apnea post-induction. The pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were assessed at 0, 1, 3 and 5 min after insertion of LMA for each group. Results: The total dose of propofol required for successful LMA insertion was significantly lower in group S (2.82 ± 0.39 mg/kg) compared to group P (3.13 ± 0.49 mg/kg), P = 0.002. Haemodynamic parameters (SBP, DBP, MAP, PR, and SpO2) were well-controlled post-LMA insertion and were comparable between the two groups. Furthermore, no incidence of hypotension or bradycardia requiring intervention was observed at different time intervals, throughout the study period, in both groups. Conclusion: The dose of propofol is lesser when low‑dose suxamethonium (0.1 mg/kg) precedes its use for induction during LMA insertion, and there is a reduction in the duration of apnea; however, it causes a higher apnea incidence. Vital signs were similar in the two study groups

Isolation and identification of microbial contaminants associated with commercial poultry feeds

Poultry feeds are food materials used in raising poultry birds. Poultry is the second most widely eaten meat in the world, accounting for about 38% of the world meat. The diseases of poultry is like the disease of other animals. They may be caused by pathogenic organisms, nutritional deficiency and from wound. This study was designed and carried out to determine the load and species of fungi and bacteria contaminating poultry feeds. A total of 6 samples were collected from different feed types and source of feeds inside poultry farm and markets feeds. The isolates were identified according to their cultural, microscopic and biochemical properties to the following gram negative bacteria include Escherichia coli and Proteus spp and gram positive bacteria include Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. The fungi includes Aspergillus niger, Penicillium spp, Fusarium spp, Rhizopus spp, Mucor spp, and Cladosporium spp. It is concluded that poultry feeds, especially those inside farms are harbouring potential pathogenic bacteria and fungi loads that are far above the acceptable levels, thus constituting a public health hazard and necessitate the application of the standard measures for production of feeds by manufacturers and health authorities. Therefore, the study recommends that hygienic production of poultry feed is a public health issue, proper treatment of feed ingredients and application of hygienic measures such as HACCP, starting from harvesting of feed ingredients to the storage, processing of feeds, packaging, transporting and eventual marketing of the bagged feeds is need of the hour

Optimal Control Strategies and Cost Effectiveness Analysis of a Malaria Transmission Model

In this paper, a non-linear model with three control parameters for household of malaria has been study. The disease free equilibrium is obtained and the basic reproduction number is computed using the next generation matrix. We carry out cost evaluation of the model to optimize the cost of the intervention in the objective functional using Pontryagins’s Maximum Principle (PMP). We apply the optimal control strategy to investigate and analyze the optimal cost for controlling the transmission of malaria using treated bednets, treatment and indoor residual spray as parameters. Numerical simulation has been carry out using Runge-Kutta of order four to calculate the incremental cost effectiveness ratio () for the implementation of various combinations of the parameters to determine the most cost effective strategy that check the spread of the disease. Our findings show that the most cost-effective strategy to check the spread of malaria is strategy F (the combination of treatment of infected individuals and indoor residual spray parameters). Keywords: Optimal Control, Malaria Transmission, Cost-Effectiveness, Treated Bednets, Treatment, Indoor Spra

In vitro effect of Aqueouscalotropis procera root extract on ammonium sulphate precipitated liver marker enzymes of albino rats

The in vitro effect of aqueous root extract of C. procera on liver marker enzymes; alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of albino rats was evaluated. ALT was precipitated at 40% ammonium sulphate saturation whilst AST and ALP were precipitated at 35 % saturation from rat liver homogenate. The   enzymes were assayed at varying concentrations (mg/ml) of the extract (0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.45. 0.50) at 37oC. At 0.00µmg/ml extract; ALT, AST and ALP activities of 5.91 ~ 10-4, 2.70 ~ 10-4 and 3. 74 ~ 10-5 µmol/min respectively. Upon incubation with  extract, the enzymes had respective mean activities of 6.38 } 0.35 ~ 10-4, 4.07 } 0.62 ~ 10-4and 2.80 } 0.44 ~ 10-5µmol/min. The activities of ALT and AST were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in presence of C. procera extract with significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the activity of ALP. It  indicates that the aqueous root extract of C. procera activated ALT and AST and inhibited ALP in vitro.Keywords: in vitro, C. procera,liver marker enzymes, ammonium sulphat

Input shaping techniques for sway control of a rotary crane system

This paper investigates the performance of input shaping techniques for sway control of a rotary crane system. Unlike the conventional optimal controllers, input shaping is simple to design and cost effective as it does not require feedback sensors. Several input shapers were implemented and their performances were compared which are useful for future sway control designs. A nonlinear model of the system was derived using the Lagrange’s equation. To investigate the performance and robustness of input shaping techniques, zero vibration (ZV), zero vibration derivative (ZVD), zero vibration derivative-derivative (ZVDD) and zero vibration derivative-derivative-derivative (ZVDDD) were proposed with a constant cable length. Level of reduction of the payload sway is used to assess the control performance of the shapers. Simulation and real time experimental results have shown that ZVDDD with a sway reduction of 88% has the highest level of sway reduction and highest robustness to modeling errors as compared to other shapers

Investigation of some expired antibiotic drugs: Effect on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 0.1 M HCl medium via experimental and molecular dynamics simulation

Three expired antibiotic drugs namely, ampiclox, ciprofloxacin, and ampicillin were studied at low concentrations on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel (MS) in 0.1 M HCl medium using weight loss and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Subsequently, the molecular structures of the antibiotic inhibitors were subjected to molecular dynamic (MD) simulation using Material Studio 8.0 software to have insight into their dynamic binding energy onto the Fe (110) surface in an acidic medium. The results showed that the weight loss and corrosion rate decrease with an increase in the inhibitor concentration, while the inhibition efficiency (%) and surface coverage increase with the increase in the inhibitor concentration respectively. The maximum inhibition efficiency of 97.72 % was attained at 0.009M concentration for ciprofloxacin followed by ampiclox and ampicillin. The SEM analysis of the MS with the expired ciprofloxacin (0.009 M) revealed a soother surface through the formation of a protective film that prevented the corrosion attack which confirms the highest inhibition efficiency. The MD simulation showed that the ciprofloxacin has the highest binding energy of -474.582 kcal/mol, followed by -248.448 kcal/mol for ampicillin and -234.955 kcal/mol for ampiclox respectively. Hence, the ciprofloxacin with the more negative magnitude of the binding energy was predicted to exhibit stronger chemisorption interaction onto the Fe (110) metal surface when compared with ampicillin and ampiclox. The findings in this research reveal good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results in studying the corrosion inhibition of the studied antibiotic drugs