Influence of mutation induction on the chemical composition of cowpea Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp

Cowpea is one of the major sources of plant protein in Nigeria. The nutritional value of cowpea has long been recognized in Africa. This study was conducted to examine the influence of mutation induction onnutritional quality of cowpea. Dry sample of cowpea ‘IT84S 2246 D’ mutants and the non irradiated parent were ground to fine powder and used for proximate analyses in three experiments. Data werecollected on dry weight basis on crude fat, crude fibre, crude protein, tannin, dry matter, moisture content and ash content. Results from the proximate analysis showed significant variation between theplant types for all parameters except crude fibre content. Mutant 7 which has the highest protein content (31.06%) and the least ash content (3.50%) and mutant 14 which has high dry matter (95.06%)and the least moisture content (4.91%) are much better than the parent. They are therefore recommended for inclusion in cowpea breeding program for improved seed quality. Crude proteincontent was significantly negatively correlated with ash and tannin contents. These are indices of improved seed quality in cowpea mutants

The economic and livelihood value of provisioning services of the Ga-Mampa wetland, South Africa

The size of the Ga-Mampa wetland (1 km2), in the Olifants River catchment in South Africa, was halved between 1996 and 2004. This jeopardizes the ecological integrity and influences the benefits people obtain from the wetland. This study therefore analysed the economic values of the provisioning services derived from the Ga-Mampa wetland and evaluated their contribution to the livelihoods of local stakeholders. Using a direct market valuation technique and based on a mix of data collection approaches that include questionnaire survey, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, field observation and measurements and collection of market prices, we estimated the economic value of the main provisioning services provided by the wetland (collection of edible plants, crop production, livestock grazing, fishing, hunting, fuel-wood, reeds and sedge collection). The results show that the contribution of the wetland to the livelihoods of local community, estimated at an annual net financial value of $211 per household, far exceeds its annual cash income of$35 per household and is about half of the average monthly cash income from all income sources. Crop production contributes the highest gross and net financial value, whereas sedge collection yields the highest cash income. Most of the materials harvested from the wetland are used for household subsistence and are rarely sold. In addition to their economic and livelihood value, the wetland services are also essential to sustain the social and cultural responsibilities in gift giving to neighbours and relatives. The study concludes that the local people are highly dependent on the wetland ecosystem services in many ways but that current use exceeds sustainability levels, which jeopardizes their future livelihoods. We therefore recommend that the local stakeholders be supported in identifying alternative sources of livelihoods while simultaneously developing sustainable management strategies for small wetlands such as Ga-Mampa. In addition, other ecosystem services (regulating, supporting and cultural, including recreational benefits) provided by the wetland to local and downstream stakeholders need to be further studied and economically assessed.ZONE HUMIDE;ECOSYSTEME;GESTION DE L'EAU;ANALYSE ECONOMIQUE;VALEUR NON MARCHANDE;AFRIQUE DU SUD;ECONOMIC VALUATION;LIVELIHOOD ANALYSIS;MARKET VALUATION;PROVISIONING SERVICES;WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS

EXPLORING APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Community development practitioners had evolved various approaches to achieve the desired level of development and improvement in human lives. In Nigeria, governmental and non-governmental organizations have adopted various approaches in the process of national development. However, many development efforts had failed to achieve desired goals due to the usage of wrong approaches. This paper, therefore, discussed various approaches to community development towards national development. In doing this the authors identified two major approaches relevant to national development in Nigeria. Based on the available knowledge from the use of the approaches and the methods, this paper concluded that community development and its approaches possess the potential for the effective achievement of national development goals.  Article visualizations

Comparative Dissolution of Natural Goethite Samples in HCl and HNO3

The dissolution of goethite samples in mineral acids from to extreme parts of Nigeria (Osogbo and Kaduna) have been investigated. The rate of dissolution was found to be slightly faster in HCl than HNO3. The higher rate of dissolution in HCl could be attributed to the complexing ability of Cl- in addition to the H+ effect while lowering effect by NO3- was attributed to adsorption of NO3 on to the goethite surface. Mononuclear complexes, especially bidentate of oxyanion are found to accelerate dissolution as opposed to binuclear complexes. A binuclear bidentate surface complex formation between NO3- and Fe3+ was therefore proposed to account for the inhibition observed. The possible formation of Fe\u2014Cl reduces both the surface positive charge and the repulsion between the oxide surface and protons in solution. This produced accelerated proton dissolution. The effect of temperature on the initial dissolution rate fit into Arrhenius equation, with Kaduna goethite exhibiting higher rate than Osogbo type in both acids. The activation energies for Kaduna goethite sample are 66.11 and 82.43 kJmol-1 in 0.1M HCl and 0.1M HNO3 respectively while for Osogbo goethite sample are 54.60 and 76.32 kJmol-1 in 0.1M HCl and 0.1M HNO3 respectively. The frequency factors of 8.4 x 10-4 & 11.17 x10-4 and 5.0 x 10-5 and 3.09 x 10-3 for Kaduna and Osogbo goethite samples were obtained. @JASE

Bio-oxidation of a low grade chalcopyrite ore by mixed culture of acidophilic bacteria

A study on the extent of biooxidation of a low grade Chalcopyrite ore using a mixed acidophilic bacterial consortium predominantly of the Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain has been carried out.  The influence of additive and pH on the bio-oxidation of the ore has been examined. The results of the investigations showed that bio-oxidation was enhanced by the addition of nutrient broth at lower pH. The enhancement in biooxidation of a chalcopyrite ore was 54% and 19% with and without addition of broth in 10 days incubation time, respectively. The study showed that at a lower pH (≤ 4.0), the biooxidation of the ore was higher in presence of broth. Consequently, in presence of nutrient broth, the concentration of Fe and Cu leached were 1200 mg/L and 350 mg/L; and without nutrient broth yielded 580 mg/L and 220 mg/L, respectively within 10 days of incubation and decreases afterwards

Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle for the Adsorptive Remediation of Petrochemical Effluents

The zinc oxide nanoparticle was synthesized via precipitation method. It was characterized using SEM-EDX, FTIR and TEM for morphology, elemental, functional groups and internal structure respectively. The physicochemical behaviour of a refinery effluent was assessed. The untreated raw refinery effluent from the point of discharge contained very high concentrations of pollutants for all the parameters, ranging between, pH (6.52-6.82), Turbidity (10-12 NTU), conductivity (266-289μs/cm), COD (116-138 mg/l), BOD (14-18.5 mg/l), DO (7.5-15.6 mg/l), TDS (436-486 mg/l), TSS (127-133 mg/l), Oil and grease (14.8-16.3 mg/l), sulphate (113-125 mg/l) and chloride (240-280 mg/l). The effluent was treated with ZnO nanoparticle and reduced the pollutants to the normal permissible limit set by WHO, FEPA and NESREA standard for portable water. The treated effluent sample showed values ranging between, pH (6.55-6.6), Turbidity (4.2-4.5 NTU), conductivity (245-246 μs/cm), COD (39-40 mg/l), BOD (10 mg/l), DO (5.6-10.4 mg/l), TDS (151-183 mg/l), TSS (24-28 mg/l), Oil and grease (7.3-9.5 mg/l), sulphate (100 mg/l) and chloride (200 mg/l). The heavy metals profile that was investigated are Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Cr of which were found above the WHO and FEPA permissible limit, however, on the contact with the adsorbent therefore reduced the metals to the permissible limit. It can be ascertain that ZnO nanoparticle can be used as an effective adsorbent for the treatment of petrochemical effluent

Comparative Analysis of Pre and Post-migration Livelihood Outcomes of Households with Absentee Heads in Osun State, Nigeria

Migration is often linked with a deleterious impact on rural area production and development. Although, the change of location for better opportunities also affect the lives and livelihoods of the migrant households’ in the rural communities. The study was a comparative analysis of the pre and post-migration living outcomes of absentee households’ heads in Osun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure involving the simple random sampling was used to select 120 absentee household heads. Data collected with interview schedule was subjected to descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analyses. Findings showed that more men (76.7%) migrated, leaving women to become the interim household heads. It was found that migrants have a higher average monthly income level (₦44,400). Prior to migration, most families were in the lower financial well-being category (83.3%), while only 55% remained in that category after migration. This follows the result of the t-test which revealed that a significant difference (t=0.00; p<0.05) exists between the well-being of migrant’s household before and after migration. Thus, it was concluded that unless the rural push factors are removed, rural-urban migration will continue at an increasing rate because benefits and opportunities acquired in the process influence the well-being of the rural households. The study recommends that enabling environment, facilities and opportunities should be created in the rural communities to transform livelihoods and improve the wellbeing of the people via interventions by national and international agencies

POVERTY-EDUCATION NEXUS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROMOTION OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN NIGERIA

The achievement of women empowerment is measured by the extent to which women and girls are able to act freely, exercise their rights, and fulfill their potential as full and equal members of society (USAID, 2012). Out of all the indices of human capital development, education is crucial and seems capable of propelling other indices such as training, employment, health and services. However the impact of poverty in accessing and utilizing education cannot be overemphasized. Poverty-education nexus impacts promotion of women development both at the family and societal levels. Education is a process of imparting knowledge, skills and information and represents an integral of personal upbringing. It is force of acquiring understanding and redesigning human environment with the view of achieving and sustaining a better quality of life. It is therefore an infrastructure provided for citizenry in order to enable them to acquire, sharpens their skills and earn better living conditions. However, as important as this ingredient is, women are still backward in education in virtually all developing countries. In Nigeria, majority of women lack access to education and are often restricted in terms of other rights including resources control (CBN, 2012; NBS, 2010; Uzoma, 2013). The study therefore attempted to confirm (or otherwise) the roles of education in women empowerment in Nigeria and proffer plausible measures to spur women education as well as national development as a whole. The study examined impact of poverty-education nexus in the promotion of women development in Nigeria. It specifically highlighted the issues and challenges in women empowerment and brought into fore the benefits inherent in educating women. The study adopted qualitative research approach and made extensive use of empirical but secondary information and statistics to justify most of the claims in the work. Information obtained were analysed following thematic content analysis intermediated by author’s reasoning and experience. Plagiarism test conducted revealed up to 9.7% level of plagiarism confirming the work as original. Information obtained through secondary data search were analyzed by interpretations of social meaning of observation through mapping and aggregation into logical segments. In addition, other basic tools of descriptive statistics and pictorial information such as graph/charts and frequencies distribution where applicable. The study shows that the sub-Saharan Africa adult literacy rate for women is the lowest (45.7%) compared with higher rates (of 98.9%) for other regions of the world. The study revealed that women are disadvantageously placed in terms of access to education and that disparity in male-female literacy may continue beyond 2015. The study posits that it is exigent to continuing raising awareness that women education and women’s empowerment is not only important for social development but is indispensable for economic development. The authors therefore believed that the barriers that impede women development would require government’s commitments such that acquired education can be transformed to meaningful economic activities through job opportunities