The Role of the Economic Financial Crime Commission in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria

Corruption is a major societal problem in the 21st century. It is prevalent in developing countries as well as in the developed ones. During the 1980s and 1990s, major banking frauds and corruption scandals occurred in many countries. Nigeria has experienced its fair share of such scandals, especially during the military era and even its current democratic dispensation. The impact of corruption on our national economy has manifested in different kinds of political, social, and economic vices. This led to the formation of the EFCC by the Obasanjo administration to find ways of tackling and eradicating corruption in our society. Using observation method and secondary sources, the paper examines how the EFCC has been able to address corruption in Nigeria, Some recommendation were made in response to the finding

Development of Protein-Functionalized Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Potential Application in Water Treatment

The treatment of water to make it safe for human consumption is a problem of immense concern, both in developing and developed countries. However, the production of clean water with chemicals as coagulants has several drawbacks associated with cost, health risks and complexity in sludge management. The application of nanotechnology in water treatment is a fast growing discipline proposed as an efficient alternative that will combat these hurdles. The aim of this thesis is to develop new water treatment strategies in a more eco-friendly manner based on a bottom-up approach using: (i) a natural coagulant protein from Moringa oleifera purified with nanoscale magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for in situ treatment; and (ii) a protein-functionalized nanoparticle (MOCP-MNPs) system by means of binding the coagulant protein onto the nanoparticles in order to develop a potential reusable water treatment process. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with different surface chemistry have been prepared from co-precipitation in aqueous solution and (water-in-oil and oil-in-water) microemulsion methods.   The prepared nanoparticles were studied in terms of size, morphology, magnetic behavior, structure, surface area including surface chemical structure and charges using different techniques such as TEM, VSM/SQUID, XRD, BET, FT-IR and zeta potential. The prepared nanoparticles exhibited a size ranging from 2-30 nm with superparamagnetic properties. The Moringa oleifera  coagulant protein (MOCP) with known molecular mass (6.5 kDa) was purified from the crude Moringa oleifera (MO) seed extracts using nanoparticles prepared from both methods. The obtained MOCP exhibits comparable coagulation activity with alum in terms of water turbidity removal, implying alternative replacement to chemical coagulants. This technique can be easily applied where natural materials are available locally. Studies on the interaction between MOCP and surface modified nanoparticles were essential to understand the binding mechanism for the development of a protein-functionalized nanoparticle. Based on in silico investigation, the overall molecular docking studies reveal the interactions between protein-ligand complexes by electrostatic, van der Waals and hydrogen-bonding; which imply, that there are at least two binding sites is i.e. one located at the core binding site (TEOS and APTES ligand) while the other located at the side chain residues (TSC and Si60-OH). This work underscores advancement in the development and use of MOCP-MNPs for potential water treatment. About 70% turbidity removal was achieved gravimetrically using MOCP-MNPs (60 min) in high and low turbid waters, whereas alum requires 180 min to reduce the turbidity especially in low turbid waters. The turbidity removal efficiency was enhanced by the use of MOCP-MNPs under the influence of an external magnetic field. More than 95% turbidity removal was achieved within 12 min in high and low turbid waters when MOCP-MNPs were used. The combination of natural coagulant protein and magnetic nanoparticles as well as the use of applied magnetic field enhanced the performance coagulating/flocculating properties in the water samples. These results suggest a successful development of MOCP-MNPs as demonstrated in the regeneration study. The data shown in this work represent novel potential water treatment strategies that could be cost-effective, simple, robust and environmentally friendly whilst utilizing biocompatible materials. QC 20120509</p

Application of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles prepared from microemulsions for protein purification

International audienceBACKGROUND: Magnetic nanoparticles are of immense interest for their applications in biotechnology. This paper reports the synthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles from two different water-in-oil microemulsion systems (ME-MIONs), their characterization and also their use in purification of coagulant protein. RESULTS: ME-MIONs have demonstrated to be an efficient binder in the purification of Moringa oleifera protein when compared with the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles prepared from coprecipitation in aqueous media. The size and morphology of the ME-MIONs were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) while the structural characteristics were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microemulsion magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (ME 1-MION and ME 2-MION) obtained have a size range 7-10 nm. The protein and ME-MIONs interaction was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR); the presence of three peaks at 2970, 2910 and 2870 cm(-1) respectively, confirms the binding of the protein. The purification and molecular weight of the coagulant protein was 6.5 kDa as analyzed by SDS-PAGE. CONCLUSION: The ME-MIONs have the advantage of being easily tailored in size, are highly efficient as well as magnetic, cost effective and versatile; they are, thus, very suitable for use in a novel purification technique for protein or biomolecules that possess similar characteristics to the Moringa oleifera coagulant protein. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industr

Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles by the oil-in-water microemulsion reaction method and their incorporation in nanocomposites

Trabajo presentado en la 26th Conference of the European Colloid and Interface Society (ECIS 2012), celebrada en Malmö (Suecia) entre el 2 y el 7 de septiembre de 2012

<i>In silico</i> modeling and experimental evidence of coagulant protein interaction with precursors for nanoparticle functionalization

<div><p>The design of novel protein–nanoparticle hybrid systems has applications in many fields of science ranging from biomedicine, catalysis, water treatment, etc. The main barrier in devising such tool is lack of adequate information or poor understanding of protein–ligand chemistry. Here, we establish a new strategy based on computational modeling for protein and precursor linkers that can decorate the nanoparticles. <i>Moringa oleifera</i> (MO_2.1) seed protein that has coagulation and antimicrobial properties was used. Superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPION) with precursor ligands were used for the protein–ligand interaction studies. The molecular docking studies reveal that there are two binding sites, one is located at the core binding site; tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) or 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APTES) binds to this site while the other one is located at the side chain residues where trisodium citrate (TSC) or Si₆₀ binds to this site. The protein–ligand distance profile analysis explains the differences in functional activity of the decorated SPION. Experimentally, TSC-coated nanoparticles showed higher coagulation activity as compared to TEOS- and APTES-coated SPION. To our knowledge, this is the first report on <i>in vitro</i> experimental data, which endorses the computational modeling studies as a powerful tool to design novel precursors for functionalization of nanomaterials; and develop interface hybrid systems for various applications.</p> </div

How Moral Distress Contributes to Depression Varies by Gender in a Sample of Sub-Saharan African Nurses

Although research has shown that moral distress harms mental health in diverse populations, information on potential moderators of such associations is scarce. In a sample of sub-Saharan African nurses, we examined the link between moral distress and depressive symptoms. We explored for whom and when such relationships may hold with regard to gender, age, and work experience. Participants consisted of 398 nurses drawn from a tertiary healthcare institution in southeastern Nigeria. Data were collected using the Moral Distress Questionnaire (MDQ) for clinical nurses, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Revised (CEDS-R). Hayes regression-based macro results for the moderation effects indicated that the association of high moral distress with increased depressive symptoms was robust for women but not significant for men. Although older age and higher years of nursing experience were associated with reduced symptoms of depression, nurses’ age and years of work experience did not moderate the relationship between moral distress and depressive symptoms. To promote mental well-being and preserve the integrity of nurses, gender-based differentials in how morals contribute depressive symptoms should be considered in policy and practice

Comparison and Functionalization Study of Microemulsion-Prepared Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MION) for protein binding and separation were obtained from water-in-oil (w/o) and oil-in-water (o/w) microemulsions. Characterization of the prepared nanoparticles have been performed by TEM, XRD, SQUID magnetometry, and BET. Microemulsion-prepared magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (ME-MION) with sizes ranging from 2 to 10 nm were obtained. Study on the magnetic properties at 300 K shows a large increase of the magnetization ∼35 emu/g for w/o-ME-MION with superparamagnetic behavior and nanoscale dimensions in comparison with o/w-ME-MION (10 emu/g) due to larger particle size and anisotropic property. <i>Moringa oleifera</i> coagulation protein (MOCP) bound w/o- and o/w-ME-MION showed an enhanced performance in terms of coagulation activity. A significant interaction between the magnetic nanoparticles and the protein can be described by changes in fluorescence emission spectra. Adsorbed protein from MOCP is still retaining its functionality even after binding to the nanoparticles, thus implying the extension of this technique for various applications

Comparison and Functionalization Study of Microemulsion-Prepared Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MION) for protein binding and separation were obtained from water-in-oil (w/o) and oil-in-water (o/w) microemulsions. Characterization of the prepared nanoparticles have been performed by TEM, XRD, SQUID magnetometry, and BET. Microemulsion-prepared magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (ME-MION) with sizes ranging from 2 to 10 nm were obtained. Study on the magnetic properties at 300 K shows a large increase of the magnetization ~35 emu/g for w/o-ME-MION with superparamagnetic behavior and nanoscale dimensions in comparison with o/w-ME-MION (10 emu/g) due to larger particle size and anisotropic property. Moringa oleifera coagulation protein (MOCP) bound w/o- and o/w-ME-MION showed an enhanced performance in terms of coagulation activity. A significant interaction between the magnetic nanoparticles and the protein can be described by changes in fluorescence emission spectra. Adsorbed protein from MOCP is still retaining its functionality even after binding to the nanoparticles, thus implying the extension of this technique for various applications.We are grateful for the financial support of the Swedish Research Council, Formas, as well as the Cost Action D43, Colloid and Interface Chemistry for Nanotechnology. M.S.-D. acknowledges NaNoTeCh, the National Nanotechnology Laboratory of Mexico, and Cesar Leyva (CIMAV, S.C.) for HRTEM/STEM measurements and assistance, and A.T.T. (CIMAV, S.C.) for ATR-IR measurements and assistance. Financial support by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN Spain, grant number CTQ2008-01979) and Generalitat de Catalunya (Agaur, grant number 2009SGR-961) is also aknowledged. C.C. acknowledges financial support from Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion; MAT 2008-02542 and GR35/10-A-950247.Peer reviewe