HARVEST TIME AND SUGAR COMPOSITION OF EARLY AND LATE CULTIVATED STAPLE-TYPE SWEET POTATO (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam) CULTIVARS ON THE JOS PLATEAU, NIGERIA

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam) is a Staple – type food source on the Jos Plateau. A study was carried out to assay for its carbohydrate and soluble sugars at different harvest times. The improved varieties CIP4400168, Ex-Igbariam, Tanzania, TIS 8164 and TIS 87/0087 and local landraces, Jandankali I, Jandankali II, Jandankali III local varieties were collected from farmers on the Jos Plateau. These were planted within Jos, harvested after 4 and 6 months, processed into chips of 1 x 1 x 6mm dimension, dried in Air ovendrier, milled and sieved to fine flours. One gram (1.0g) of the flour was dissolved in 50ml of distilled water, shaken in 250ml flask to extract its constituents, tested for carbohydrate and soluble sugars qualitatively and quantitatively for glucose, fructose, maltose and sucrose.&nbsp

Complete Solution for Particles of Nonzero Rest Mass in Gravitational Fields

In a paper "The Golden Dynamical Equation of Motion for Particles of Nonzero Rest in Gravitational Fields" (Howusu 2004, Physics Essays 17(3)), the planetary orbital equation of motion for particles of nonzero rest mass in gravitational fields was derived. In this paper we used the series method to calculate the angle of deflection for a photon that grazes the edge of the sun in the sun's Gravitational field. Our results were found to fall within experimental, measurements. Keywords: Passive mass, Inertial mass, Gravitational field, Gravitational Potential, Deflection angle.

Equation of a Particle in Gravitational Field of Spherical Body

In this study the law of classical mechanics for the corpuscular behavior of all entities in all interaction fields in nature is formulated. This law is applied to an entity of non-zero rest mass in the gravitational field of stationary homogeneous spherical body. The results are that the classical mechanical equation hence the solutions of motion for the entity contains terms of all orders of c- 2, the solution of motion for the entity predicts an anomalous  orbital precession in perfect agreement with experiment and Einstein theory of general relativity. Keywords: Non-zero mass, Gravitational field, Relativity and Inertial mas

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM PARI DISTRICT, KAURU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE

An ethno-medicinal survey was carried out in October, 2017 to collate information on the medicinal plants used by the Chawai people of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.A 10m x 10m quadrat size was used to sample 8 plots, 200 metres apart. Oral interviews were conducted with Elders, Alternative Medicinal Practitioners, Hunters and women. Seventy-two (62) plant species were recorded and distributed across 31 families out of which 68 were used for alternative medicinal purposes and distributed according to the following families:Mimosoideae (12.90%),Anacardiaceae (9.68%), Caesalpinodeae (8.06%), Euphorbiaceae (8.06%), while Apocynaceae, Moraceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae showed (4.84%) each. The study revealed that the plant part mostly used are the roots when compared to the other parts of the plant (barks, leaves, stems, roots, fruits, seeds,latex and flowers). Latex and flowers were amongst the least parts used. There is the urgent need for more documentation of the traditional ethno-medicinal knowledge

Environmental injustice and childhood lead exposure in peri-urban (ger) areas of Darkhan and Erdenet, Mongolia

Abstract Background The ger (“tent city”) areas in Mongolia are a product of rapid urbanization and transitional economic development combine with lack of institutional, administrative and financial capacity of governments to cope with the pace. These areas have become traps for inequities in social and environmental services and the associated effects on human health. Disparities in childhood lead exposure in such communities are largely unexplored. Methods We measured the concentrations of lead in blood of children, aged 4–7 years, in Erdenet (Orkhon Province) and Darkhan (Darkhan-Uul Province), the second and third largest cities in Mongolia. A survey instrument was used to gather information on influencing factors on lead exposure and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess a spectrum of behavioral problems among the children. Results The mean blood lead level (BLL) of children in the two cities was found to be 3.8 ± 2.6 μg/dL (range: < 1.5–17.2 μg/dL) and 27.8% of the children had BLLs ≥5 μg/dL. Average BLL of children in Erdenet (a mining center) was significantly higher than that for children in Darkhan, and there was statistically significant difference between average BLL of children who live in ger district (4.2 ± 2.8 μg/dL) compared to those of children in housing units within the city (3.2 ± 2.4 μg/dL). In spite of the low values, BLLs was significantly associated with a number of effects on the spectrum of behavioral disorders, specifically with the scores for hyperactivity, conduct disorder and pro-social behavior. Conclusions This study shows that childhood lead poisoning is common especially in ger communities of the urban areas of Mongolia. It contributes evidence showing that BLL low as 3.8 μg/dL can selectively activate some effects from a spectrum of likely behavioral disorders in children.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147734/1/12889_2019_Article_6486.pd

GENETIC VARIABILITY AND INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRAIN YIELD AND SOME MORPHOLOGICAL AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF ACHA (Digitaria spp.) ACCESSIONS

Acha (Digitaria exillis Kippis. Stapf and D. iburua stapf L) belongs to the grass family, Poaceae and has been described as the oldest West African cereal and of great value to the natives. With its potentials, there has been a renewed interest in Acha cultivation and research. The present study focused on the evaluation of the genetic variability and interrelationship between grain yield and some morphological and reproductive traits of some Acha accessions collected from farmers in five villages (Mwel, Toff, Kuba, Mbar and Kulere Richa) Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. The trial was conducted during the 2019 rainy season atthe Federal College of Forestry Jos. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Analysis of variance revealed variability among the different accessions. Grain yield was positively and significantly correlated with plant height.&nbsp

FOOD AND PASTURE PLANT DIVERSITY FROM PARI DISTRICT OF KAURU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

An ethno-botanical survey was carried out in October, 2017 on the food and fodder plants of the Chawai people of Pari, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. A 10m x 10m quadrat size was used to sample 8plots, 200metres apart. Oral interviews were conducted with Elders, Alternative Medicine Practitioners, Hunters and women. 49 plants species were recorded as plant species used for food/culinary and fodder/veterinary purposes, by the inhabitants. The results of the study revealed that 31 (62.27%) of the 49 plants are used as food, condiment and/or spice. Out of the 31plant species collected, fruits are consumed more as food than any other part of the plant (74.19%).The Family Mimosoideae accounted for 6(12.12%) out of the 49 used for food and fodder purposes. Anacardiaceae, Sapotaceae, Euphobiaceae, Moraceae, and Apocynaceae had 3 species each. The remaining families had 1 and 2 species each.The study revealed that the plant part mostly used are the fruit 24 (42.11%)this was followed by the leaves14 (24.56%), seed and bark with 5each (8.5%), flower 4 (7.02%), roots 3 (5.26%) and stem 1 (1.8%). There is the urgent need for more documentation of the traditional ethno-botanical knowledge.&nbsp

Study on synthesizing Mg/Al layered double hydroxides at different pHs

Mg/Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) was successfully synthesized at different pHs values. The Mg/AL LDH was well characterized by X-Ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The morphology of the LDH was observed using Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The influence of pH values on the morphology of the Mg/Al LDHs were studied. The result showed that the well-synthesized Mg/Al LDHs could be obtained when the pH value was about 10.0 at room temperature.DOI: http://doi.dx.org/10.5564/mjc.v15i0.319 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry 15 (41), 2014, p36-3

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF EARLY AND LATE HARVESTED IMPROVED AND LOCAL SWEET POTATO (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam) CULTIVARS ON THE JOS PLATEAU

The physicochemical composition and the energy values of the flours of both identified improved sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam) cultivars: CIP4400168, Ex-Igbariam, Tanzania, TIS 8164 and TIS 87/0087 and three local varieties (Land-races) of sweet potato were investigated. The cultivars were harvested after 4 months (early harvest) and 6 months (late harvest) to determine their suitability for the formulation of sweet potato secondary products. The root of each harvestwas weighed, washed, scrubbed, chipped to 1 x 1 x 6mm&nbsp;dimension, dried, milled into powder, sieved through 250μm mesh size sieve to obtain sweet potato flour. The flour was proximately analysed for moisture content (MC), Protein, Lipid, Fibre, Ash, Starch, Calorific value and pH using standard methods.The late harvest differed significantly in the parameters examined. The flour had low percentage moisture content ranging between 5 and 7.04% for late and early harvests respectively, indicative of long shelf life characteristics and low chances of attack by microorganisms. The crude protein values were higher (7.04%) in the flours of the early harvest but low (0.77%) for late harvest. The lipid concentration of the cultivars was low, 0.24 and 1.67% for the flours of 4 and 6 months harvests respectively. The fibre mean values of the flours were high (3.80%) in the 6 months harvest but low (1.24%) in the 4 months harvest.The ash content of the samples ranged between 0.83 and 2.56% for the flours of 6 and 4 months harvest respectively. The mean percentage values for starch of the flours were high ranging between 79.43 and 89.76% for 4 and 6 months harvested cultivars.&nbsp

VARIABLE GENETIC EXPRESSIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRAIN YIELD AND SOME QUALITY TRAITS OF ACHA (Digitaria spp.) ACCESSIONS IN JOS PLATEAU

Acha (Digitaria exillis kippis. Stapf and D. iburua Stapf L) is one of the oldest West African cereal and of great value to the natives. It belongs to the Poaceae (Grass) family. Despite its potentials, Acha has remained a marginal crop. The present study focused on the evaluation of the variable genetic expressions and interrelationship between grain yield and some morphological traits of some Acha accessions. These accessions were collected from farmers in five villages of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. This work was conducted at the end of the 2019 rainy season at the Federal College of Forestry Jos. Grains were harvested from the experimental field and proximate analysis was conducted for the Ash content, crude fat, crude fibre, protein content, carbohydrate content, moisture content, dry matter content and energy values. Analysis of variance revealed variability among the different accessions and the variability spanned the nutritional composition of Acha.&nbsp