Investigation of Possible Groundwater Contamination from Septic System Siting in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of siting of septic systems on the quality of groundwater in the immediate vicinity. Water samples were collected randomly from twenty (20) boreholes located less than 30m from septic systems in Port Harcourt, Nigeria to determine their physico-chemical qualities and microbiological characteristics. Standard analytical techniques were employed in the investigation. Five (5) boreholes at distances ranging from 60m to 100m from the nearest septic system were sampled for analyses as controls.  The water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and total dissolved solid values were within the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. The pH of water from all the boreholes including the controls were lower than the WHO standards.  The values of the physico-chemical parameters obtained for water samples from boreholes located less than 30m were similar to the values obtained from control boreholes.  These physico-chemical parameters were invariably not a function of the location of the borehole in relation to septic system. The total coliform bacteria concentration ranged from 130 MPN index/100ml to 172 MPN index/100ml while the faecal coliform distribution ranged from 14 MPN index/100ml to 36 MPN index/100ml. Going by WHO standards on total and faecal coliforms, the studied boreholes and controls are all polluted. However, total Coliform and faecal coliform are found in all the control boreholes. The presence of these coliforms in borehole located close to septic systems cannot be specifically said to have come from the septic system. Keywords: Borehole, septic system, advection, dispersion, diffusion, coliform, contamination

CONCENTRATION OF HEAVY METALS IN THE SOIL AND PLANTS AROUND WASTE DUMPSITES IN ENUGU METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Aims: The purpose of this project is to find the concentration of heavy metals in the topsoil and the plant around the waste dumpsite from Enugu municipal solid disposal sites. Methodology and Results: There was a collection of soil samples from four designated public municipal solid waste dumpsites in Enugu metropolis. The soil samples were collected at 10m intervals from the centre location point of each dumpsite at a constant depth. The sample collection design include centre (0 m) of the dumpsites, 10, 20, and 30m. However, the control sample was 65m away from the centre of dumpsites at the same depth. Plant samples were taken just at the centre (0m), and control measures were at 65m distance away from each dumpsite. The Goat grasses harvested were taken to the lab to determine and analyse heavy metals intake from the soil. These samples were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AA320N) model. On the average, high concentrations of Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Pb found in the soil samples collected at the centre of the dumpsites were 141.70, 121.5, 75.53, 70.33 and 64.53 mg/kg respectively. The results were statistically analysed and had significant effects between the samples (p < 0.05). Conclusion, significance, and impact study: The heavy metals studied were within the acceptable or permissible limit by WHO and FAO. However, the plant intake of zinc at Presidential that was beyond the maximum permissible level of 163.45 mg/kg Zn compared with FAO and WHO standard of 50 mg/kg

Perception of Sources, Accessibility and Consequences of Domestic Water Supply in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria.

The study focused on the accessibility  and consequences of domestic water supply(DWS) in Mbaitoli L. G.A. Structured questionnaire was administered  on 10 autonomous communities that were randomly selected.   Sources of  DWS  evaluated includes : bore hole, stream, pond, rainwater, underground water, water vendor and pipe borne water. The results revealed that rainwater consumption has the highest percentage of 24% with pipe borne water having the lowest percentage of 1%. Accessibility study revealed that 26% travelled between 1-2km, 51% between 3-4km and 23% revealed above >4 km in search of water. The result hygienic condition shown that  69% affirmed the poor hygienic  conditions of sources of DWS, while 48% do not treat water meant for drinking and provision of potable water is on self-help basis constituting 76%,  with Government having 16%, and  Non-governmental Organizations(NGOs) constituting 8%. Based on the results, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) should be practiced to include Government and NGOs  involvement in water supply, operation and  maintenance  (O&M) of rainwater harvesting (RWH) to: improves water availability, its proximity, its quantity and its quality in order to eradicate women's and girl’s children burden of collecting water for domestic use  and reduce the  amount of rainwater that goes to the drainage  in order to  avoid the floods phenomena. Keywords: Sources, Consequences,  Accessibility ,  Domestic, Water

Death patterns among Nigerian leaders

BACKGROUND:The aim of this study is to establish the patterns of death amongst Nigerian leaders since independence, thus providing a feasible avenue to avoid their recurrence if possible especially amongst the political elite who currently hold power. METHODS: Using available unclassified authentic public information, all leaders who had ruled Nigeria since her independence on 1 October, 1960 until her 45th birthday on 1 October 2005, irrespective of whether they are dead or alive were included. Data was extracted and analyzed. RESULTS: On 1 October 2005, Nigeria celebrated 45 years as a sovereign nation. Within this period, the country has had eleven leaders, all of whom were men. Only three (27.3%) were civilians, while eight (72.7%) were army generals. Of the eleven leaders, four (36.4%) had died before Nigeria reached its 45th birthday and all of these four (100%) died while still in office. Three of the dead leaders (75%) were assassinated, while one (25%) died suddenly in mysterious circumstances, believed to be the result of poisoning by unknown external powerful interest groups. Three of the deaths (75%) occurred during violent periods of Nigeria’s checkered history (1966-1970 and 1993-1999), showing that periods of national and international strife appeared to be the weakest link in chains of events that led to their death while in office. Autopsies were neither requested nor performed on any of the dead leaders, signifying an entrenched culture of nonchalance, a lack of a coordinated national coroner’s law and contempt for accurate and detailed death records. Worse still, no valid tenable death certificate has ever been issued. In other words, no attempt has been made to determine the cause of death of four of the nation’s former leaders. Only hurried national burials were accorded two (50%) of them while the other two (50%), who died in the coup and revenge coup of 1966, were completely neglected, and not even given a decent national burial. CONCLUSIONS: The facts identified above will serve as a landmark to highlight an existing problem, and thus bring the issue to the attention of policy-makers and the political elite. The overall expected benefit is that nations like Nigeria can focus on the issue of orderly succession and the peaceful handing-over of government to duly transparently elected national leaders and all efforts should be made to avoid holding on to power unnecessarily. The tenets of democracy shall be upheld and transparent elections take place so as to reduce national tension and strife to the barest minimum. We also strongly recommend a review and improvement of Nigeria’s national coroner’s laws

Comparative Evaluation of Batch and Continuous Anaerobic Digesters in Biogas Production from Municipal Solid Waste using Mathematical Models

An investigation was conducted into the suitability of either of the batch or continuous (CSTR) digesters for anaerobic degradation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the production of biogas. Mathematical models were developed for the design and evaluation of the two systems. The development of the models was based upon a material balance analysis of the digesters'operation. A Microsoft Visual Basic Version 6.0 Programme was developed for the solution ofthe model equations, and the digesters' operations simulated over a range of percentage total solids (PTS) concentration of 4-10% for the CSTR and 4-30% for the batch digester, and fractional conversion of 0.2-0.8. The results of the simulation show that although the amount of methane (0.0764m3) produced per unit volume of the batch digester is about 4 times less than the amount (0.284m3) per unit volume of the CSTR, the cost per unit volume of the batch digester ($5.98) is 6 times less than that of the CSTR ($33.8), suggesting that the overall cost of producing gas with the batch digester would be more economical. So, it was deduced that the batch digester is better suited for the digestion of MSW for biogas production, compared to the CST

Effects of Different Combinations of Two Spices: Clove and Nutmeg Seed Extracts on Antioxidants Levels in African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

The effect of different combinations of  botanical spices such as  clove and nutmeg in different proportion  on the antioxidants  activities which include lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxide (GPX) in  juveniles and adults sizes of Clarias gariepinus was investigated using different combinations of clove (C),and nutmeg (C.N 0:0- Control 0% of Clove and Nutmeg; C.N 1:3- 25% Clove and 75% Nutmeg; C.N 3:1- 75% Clove and 25% Nutmeg; C.N 2:2- 50% Clove and 50% Nutmeg; C.4 - 100% Clove;  N4-  100% ) in triplicates. The results from the study indicated that the anaesthetic caused a significant (p<0.05) alterations in the five antioxidants under investigation. The highest alterations in the studied antioxidants were observed in the fish exposed to C4 combination of the anaesthetics and the lowest in the control. The results from this work therefore suggest that the anaesthetics  can alter  antioxidants levels  in the fish which was more noticeable in the fish exposed to C.N 3:1- 75% Clove and 25% Nutmeg; C.N 2:2- 50% Clove and 50% Nutmeg; C.4 - 100% Clove;  N4-  100%  . Hence fish farmers and scientists are advised to take caution when combining these plant extracts for use in aquaculture.

Geological and Geotechnical Evaluation of Gully Erosion at Nguzu Edda, Afikpo Sub-Basin, Southeastern Nigeria

A detailed geological field mapping of Nguzu Edda has revealed that gully erosion and landslides have remained active over the years, posing serious threats to human life, agricultural land, infrastructure and socio-economic activities within the area. Consequently, twelve true representative soil samples from different locations within gully sites have been analyzed based on ASTM and British Standards, to evaluate geologic conditions and geotechnical parameters that influence the gullies problems. The results of the laboratory tests revealed that the soil at the gully sites are predominantly sands (57~99.5 % with mean of 69.7%) with low amount of fines (silt; 0.3~ 22% with average value of 14.6% and clay: 0.2 ~ 21% with average value of 13.9%). The liquid limit (LL) ranged from 15 ~ 31.50 % with mean of 23.32% and the plasticity index (PI) ranged from 2.92~14.42% with mean of 8.95%. The moisture content, permeability, bulk density, porosity, organic matter and pH have average values of 25.31%, 6.04×10-4 cm/sec, 1.55 kg/m3, 40.40, 1.26% and 5.12, respectively. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is low, which could be attributed to low organic matter, pH and non active clay minerals. With regard to the aforementioned characteristics, the soils at gully sites are loose sands with low amount of fines fraction, hence cohesionless, and are easily exposed to agents/factors of gully erosion. Thus, provides insights about the vulnerable causes of gully erosion and landslides problems that are prevalent in the area. This research addresses, to a great extent the effects of local geology, geotechnical properties of the underlying soil and associated human activities on the formation of gully erosion, in-turn results to landslides within in the study area. Engineering-geologic aspects of soil erosion control were also recommended. Keywords: Afikpo Sub-basin, Geologic conditions, Geotechnical analysis, Gully erosion and Erosion control measures

Effect of Total Solids Concentration of Municipal Solid Waste on the Biogas Produced in an Anaerobic Continuous Digester

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) contains a relatively large amount of organic matter, which decomposes by the actions of microorganisms under anaerobic conditions to produce biogas. The total solids (TS) concentration of the waste influences the pH, temperature and effectiveness of the microorganisms in the decomposition process. This work investigated various concentrations of the TS of MSW in an anaerobic continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and the corresponding amounts of biogas produced, in order to determine conditions for optimum gas production. Five laboratory-scale anaerobic batch digesters of 5 litres volume each were set up for the digestion of 2kg of shredded MSW diluted to a %TS concentration of 26.7%. The results from the batch experimentation were adapted to the design of a CSTR for the digestion of MSW. The CSTR was simulated over a range of %TS concentration of 4-10, at a maximum fractional conversion of 0.8 to cater for system inefficiencies. Mathematical models were developed for the process and solved using the Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0 Programme. The results show the amount of biogas produced as a power function of the %TS concentration, indicating that as the process continues, a time comes when any marginal increase in the %TS concentration would no longer contribute to the increasing volume of biogas produced. The results further show that, given the limiting upper boundary of the %TS concentration, optimum biogas production in a CSTR digesting MSW cannot be ascertained with the concentration of the %TS alone

Effectiveness and tolerability of radiotherapy for patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a monocenter analysis

To analyze the effectiveness and toxicities of radiotherapy in indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (iNHL) patients treated in our institution. Patients with iNHL treated with radiotherapy between 1999 and 2016 were included. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were local control (LC), overall survival (OS) and toxicities. PFS, LC, and OS were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test was used to investigate the differences between subgroups. Cox proportional hazard model was used for univariate continuous analysis. Seventy-five patients were identified in our institutional database between 1999 and 2016. Fifty-eight (77.3%) had stage I after Ann-Arbor and 17 patients (22.7%) had stage II. The median follow-up was 87~months (95% CI 72-102~months). Median single dose per fraction was 2.0~Gy (range 1.5-2~Gy) and median total dose was 30.6~Gy (range 16-45~Gy). Radiotherapy was performed in 2D (n = 10; 13.3%), 3D (n = 63; 84.0%) and VMAT (n = 2; 2.7%) techniques, respectively. The median PFS was 14.0~years (95% CI 8.3-19.7~years). The estimated PFS after 5 and 10~years were 73.0% and 65.5% in Kaplan-Meier analysis, respectively. The 5- and 10-year LC were 94.9% and 92.3%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year OS were 88.6% and 73.9%. In univariate analyses of PFS, younger patients (≤ 60~years old) had significantly superior PFS to those older than 60~years old (5-year PFS 81.9% vs. 65.1%, p = 0.021). Dose escalation > 36.0~Gy had no prognostic influence in term of PFS (p = 0.425). Extranodal involvement, stage and histology had no prognostic impact on PFS. Depending on the site of lymphomas, the most common acute side effects were: dermatitis CTCAE° I-II (8.0%), xerostomia CTC° I (8.0%), cataract CTC° I (12.0%) and dry eyes CTC° I-II (14.6%). No adverse event CTC° III was reported. Most acute side effects recovered at 3 to 6~months after radiotherapy except for CTC° I cataract and xerostomia. Local Radiotherapy was highly effective for treatment of early stage iNHL with no serious side effects in our cohort. The most acute CTCAE° I-II side effects recovered 3 to 6~months later. Technique advances seem to have further improved effectiveness and tolerability of radiotherapy.Trial registration: Local ethics committee of Ludwig-Maximilian-University (LMU) Munich approved this retrospective analysis on the May 7th, 2019 (Nr. 19-137)