Mechanical and Microstructural Characterization of Alkali-Activated Coconut Shell Ash Mortar

In this paper, potential of alkaline activation of coconut shell ash (CSA) as binder in mortar was investigated. Coconut shells were collected and calcined at temperature ranges between 500 and 900°C at interval of 100 for 30, 60 and 90 minutes to determine optimum burning condition that produces ash of higher silica content. Chemical composition of the ashes was then determined using X-ray Florescence (XRF) technique. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) of different concentrations of 10, 12, 14 and 16 Molar (M) was used as alkaline activator, while mortar of mix ratio 1:3 was produced, while ratio of the alkali to CSA was of 0.5.  Mortar prisms of size 40 mm  40 mm  160 mm were cast and cured in an oven at a temperature of 80  for 7, 28, 56, 90 and 120 days. Thereafter, flexural and compressive strengths were determined at the end of each curing ages, following standard procedures. Scanning Electron micrographs of the hydrated mortar at 120 days were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) The results showed the oxide composition did not follow any pattern with increase in temperature but CSA produced at 800 for 1h gave the highest combined silica, alumina and ferric oxides above 70%, which is accepted as minimum value for pozzolanic materials.  Both compressive and flexural strengths of the activated mortar samples were found to increase with increase in activator concentration up to 14M and decline thereafter. At 120 days, the compressive strength was 13.9 N/mm2 while the flexural strength was 6.88 N/mm2. These values were higher than the strengths recommended by Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) for load bearing blocks. It was concluded that activation of CSA with NaOH could be used as binder for non-structural use. The SEM results indicated that mortar made from 14 M had structure that was densely packed compared to other mortar samples produced from other concentrations

Relative Effectiveness of Water Hyacinth, Bacteria and Fungi in Purifying Sewage

The relative effectiveness of water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) (phytoremedian), bacteria and fungi (bioremedians) used for the purification of domestic sewage was carried out using Completely Randomised Design (CRD) replicated three times. Treatments imposed include: no treatment (control), 1kg and 2kg water hyacinth, bacteria and fungi cultures. Physical, bacteriological and chemical properties of domestic sewage were investigated before and after purification. The results show that for suspended solids, cultured tanks treated with 2kg water hyacinth reduced the sewage concentration from 73mg/l to 37.5mg/l, dissolved solids was reduced from 312mg/l to 266mg/l, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) was reduced from 11.2mg/l to 4.37mg/l, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) was reduced from 7.6mg/l to 2.7mg/l. Dissolved Oxygen increased from 6.8mg/l to 7.17mg/l for 2kg hyacinth treatment due to photosynthesis but reduced to 3.7 for fungi. The cultured tanks treated with bacteria performed best in reducing turbidity and bacteriological properties of sewage. Turbidity was reduced from 5.8NTU to 1.2NTU for tanks cultured with bacteria. During the first three weeks, the hyacinth's growth was very rapid. It effectively depleted the nutrients present in the sewage, by the 4th week, gradual wilting of water hyacinth was noticed and by the end of the 5th week, serious wilting occurred due to deficiency in essential nutrients. The 2kg water hyacinth tanks wilted permanently due to total consumption of sewage. The results show that purification potential of water hyacinth is related to plants population with the 2kg hyacinth's tanks purifying better than the 1kg hyacinth density and also that bacteria purifies sewage better than fungi. Generally the 2kg water hyacinth was best in reducing the physio-chemical properties of the sewage better than the other treatments applied while the tanks treated with bacteria performed best in reducing bacteriological properties of sewage. Keywords:-Purification, sewage, phytoremediation, water hyacinth, bioremediation, bacteria and fungi.

Preparation and characterisation of TIG-alloyed hybrid composite coatings for high-temperature tribological applications

There is an increasing interest in the tribology community for developing high-performance composite coatings to meet severe tribological conditions in advanced mechanical systems which require high operating temperature and long life. In the present work, powder preplacement and tungsten inert gas (TIG) torch melting techniques have been employed to generate titanium carbide (TiC)-based composite coatings containing hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) or Ni–P coated hBN (Ni–P-hBN) lubricant additive. The effects of preplaced powder composition on the cross-sectional microstructures and surface hardnesses of the developed coatings were analysed. Furthermore, the friction and wear behaviours of the composite coatings at 600°C were evaluated using a Ducom ball-on-disc wear test rig. The results indicate that the TIG-melted surface containing TiC and Ni–P-hBN powder mixtures exhibits optimum properties combining good control of microstructures and uniformly distributed hardness as well as excellent tribological properties due to the enhanced wettability action of Ni–P encapsulated hBN particles

Self‑perceived seizure precipitants among patients with epilepsy in middle‑belt Nigeria

Aim: Patient’s perception of seizure precipitant is crucial in epilepsy management, but it is often overlooked by physicians. This may be due to neglect and underestimation of its importance. This study looked at frequency and nature of self‑perceived seizure precipitants among patients with epilepsy.Materials and Methods: A close‑ended questionnaire‑based study. Patients with active epilepsy (≥2 attacks/year) were recruited from the neurology clinic of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin.Result: A total of 89 patients participated in the study and of these 41 (46.1%) were males. Their median age was 30 (21-52) years and median age at seizure onset was 22 (15-46) years. The median seizure duration was five (2-14) years. More patients (46.1%) had less than secondary school education and 12 (13.5) were uneducated. Generalized epilepsy was the predominant (68.6%) seizure type. A total of 33 (37.1%) subjects had ≥4 attacks/year, 29 (32.6%) had 5-12 attacks/year, and 27 (30.3%) >12 attacks/year. A total of 16 (18%) subjects did not mention any seizure precipitant, whereas 73 (82.2%) reported at least one specific seizure precipitant; of these, 62 (85%) patients reported ≥2 precipitants. Stress (41%), inadequate sleep (27%), and head trauma (26%) were the three leading seizure precipitants mentioned. Subject’s age, sex, level of seizure control, and place of abode did not influence reported seizure precipitants. However, the more educated (>12 years education) patients significantly reported stress as seizure precipitant (P < 0.05). Most (80%) patients rightly indicated that antiepileptic drug was the best treatment for their seizure control.Conclusion: The result of this study showed that the leading perceived seizure precipitants among epilepsy patients attending the neurology clinic of UITH were stress, inadequate sleep, head trauma, and demonic attacks and spells.Keywords: Perceived‑seizure‑precipitant‑ epilepsy ‑Nigeria

Synthesis, characterization, in-vitro anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial screening of metal(II) mixed diclofenac and acetaminophen complexes

Mixed ligand complexes derived from diclofenac potassium salt (Kdc) and acetaminophen (ace) has been synthesized and proposed to have a general formula [MB] where M = Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+and B = (ace)(dc)(H2O)2 except for Mn2+ complex which exists as [Mn(ace)(dc)OH2]. The complexes were characterized by solubility, melting point, conductivity, elemental analyses, UV-Vis, FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) study and magnetic susceptibility measurement. Electronic absorption spectra data are characteristic of octahedral structures for [MB]. The IR spectra revealed a bidentate coordination mode. In acetaminophen, the nitrogen and carbonyl-O atoms of the amide group were involved while the carboxylate oxygen atoms of potassium diclofenac were used; typical of a carboxylic acid derivative. The compounds were screened for in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity by inhibition of albumin denaturation assay and antimicrobial activity against bacteria strains: Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus anthrax, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and a fungus Aspergillus niger. Some of the tested compounds showed moderate anti-inflammatory activity when compared to the standard drug diclofenac potassium salt. The in-vitro antimicrobial screening revealed an increased activity of the complexes against the bacteria isolates compared to the free ligands.                     KEY WORDS: Metal(II) ion, NSAIDs, Anti-inflammatory activity, Diclofenac potassium salt, XRPD, Antimicrobial activity   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(1), 77-86. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i1.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of coagulase negative Staphylococci isolated from pigs and in-contact humans in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

The nasal carriage and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of coagulase negative  staphylococci (CoNS) isolates from healthy pigs and in-contact humans were  investigated in 300 pigs and 101 in-contact humans from pig farms and abattoir. The results indicate that 13.2% (53/401) of the isolates were CoNS species based on confirmatory test with Microgen biochemical kit and were further subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing. Nine CoNS species were identified; S. haemolyticus (n = 10), S. simulans (n =5), S. chromogen (n = 9), S. warneri (n =5), S. xylosus (12), S. epidermidis (n = 5), S. schleiferi (n = 5) and S. hominis (n = 2). Overall, resistance to beta-lactams was the most observed; 79.2% of the isolates were resistant to penicillin while 11.3% and 7.5% were respectively resistant to oxacillin and cefoxitin, respectively.  Resistance to 2 or more antimicrobial agents was observed in 39.6% (21/53) of the CoNS isolates. All the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent except for gentamicin. Multidrug resistant CoNS are common colonizers of apparently healthy pigs and in-contact humans in the study area with S. xylosus and S. haemolyticus being the major species detected.Key words: Antibiotics, CoNS, pigs, humans

Preventing CKD in Developed Countries

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important public health concern in developed countries because of both the number of people affected and the high cost of care when prevention strategies are not effectively implemented. Prevention should start at the governance level with the institution of multisectoral polices supporting sustainable development goals and ensuring safe and healthy environments. Primordial prevention of CKD can be achieved through implementation of measures to ensure healthy fetal (kidney) development. Public health strategies to prevent diabetes, hypertension, and obesity as risk factors for CKD are important. These approaches are cost-effective and reduce the overall noncommunicable disease burden. Strategies to prevent nontraditional CKD risk factors, including nephrotoxin exposure, kidney stones, infections, environmental exposures, and acute kidney injury (AKI), need to be tailored to local needs and epidemiology. Early diagnosis and treatment of CKD risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension are key for primary prevention of CKD. CKD tends to occur more frequently and to progress more rapidly among indigenous, minority, and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Special attention is required to meet the CKD prevention needs of these populations. Effective secondary prevention of CKD relies on screening of individuals at risk to detect and treat CKD early, using established and emerging strategies. Within high-income countries, barriers to accessing effective CKD therapies must be recognized, and public health strategies must be developed to overcome these obstacles, including training and support at the primary care level to identify individuals at risk of CKD, and appropriately implement clinical practice guidelines

Review of Agricultural Waste Utilization as Improvement Additives for Residual Tropical Soils

The development of a nation partially depends on sustainable materials obtained from agricultural products. Increased agricultural products could increase the amount of waste generated yearly. This paper presents a review on the use of agricultural waste with pozzolanic properties (rice husk ash, Locust bean waste ash, Palm oil fuel ash, Banana leaf ash, Bagasse ash, Coconut shell ash, Bamboo leaf ash, Corn cob ash, Cassava peel ash and Palm kernel shell ash) in various geotechnical engineering applications. Interestingly, these wastes were subjected to various laboratory tests such as (particle size distribution, Compaction, Atterberg, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR)) to assess their effectiveness in soil improvement. In all these, the percentages of the materials required for soil improvement were discussed. The reports from various researchers have shown that agricultural waste having pozzolanic properties improves the engineering properties of soil. For instance, palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is mostly used as an admixture in concrete as reported elsewhere. Few studies have been carried out on the use of banana leaf ash and palm oil fuel ash as soil improvement materials. It is recommended that further researches should focus on the possibility of using other agricultural waste from Cocoyam, Yam peel, maize trunk, Cashew and Guava that have limited reporting researches for use as soil improvement materials

Microbial Spectrum Of Pelvic Inflamatory Diseases In Nguru, Nigeria

Pelvic inflammatory diseases, a leading gynecological problem worldwide, are associated with socio-economic and psychological costs. A retrospective study of 1350 high vaginal swabs analyzed between Jan-Dec. 2005, showed that 845 (62.8%) were positive for 9 microorganisms by culture/or wet preparation. Microbial growth was found in 645 (76.3%) cases. Polymicrobial growth was found in 90 (10.7%), fungal growth in 110 (13.0%) cases, and 3(0.4%) yielded anaerobic growth. Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 355 (42.0%) cases, followed by Escherichia coli 190 (22.5%), Trichomonas vaginalis 100 (11.8%) Candida spp and Neisseria gonorrhoeae 70 (8.3) and the least, Pseudomonas spp 5 (0.6%) Microbial-associated infection was prominent in the group 21-30 years old (46.6%) and 31-40 (23.9%) years respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern showed that mean susceptibility greater than 50% were recorded with ofloxacin 80%, ceftazidime 80%, rifampicin 81.9% compared to mean susceptibility less that 50% recorded with trimethoprim-sulthamethoxazole 34.7%, and ampicillin 26.1%. In conclusion, the reported microbial-associated infection in PID with a prevalence of 62.8% is of public health importance. Early diagnosis of causative agents and prompt institution of chemotherapeutic agents will help to prevent clinical complications that are expensive to treat. Keywords: pelvic inflammatory diseases, microorganisms, antibiotic susceptibility. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 9 (3) 2008: pp. 157-16