The Orchid Velamen: A model system for studying patterned secondary cell wall development?

Understanding the mechanisms through which plants generate secondary cell walls is of more than academic interest: the physical properties of plant-derived materials, including timber and textiles, all depend upon secondary wall cellulose organization. Processes controlling cellulose in the secondary cell wall and their reliance on microtubules have been documented in recent decades, but this understanding is complicated, as secondary walls normally form in the plant’s interior where live cell imaging is more difficult. We investigated secondary wall formation in the orchid velamen, a multicellular epidermal layer found around orchid roots that consists of dead cells with lignified secondary cell walls. The patterns of cell wall ridges that form within the velamen vary between different orchid species, but immunolabelling demonstrated that wall deposition is controlled by microtubules. As these patterning events occur at the outer surface of the root, and as orchids are adaptable for tissue culture and genetic manipulation, we conclude that the orchid root velamen may indeed be a suitable model system for studying the organization of the plant cell wall. Notably, roots of the commonly grown orchid Laelia anceps appear ideally suited for developing this research

Effect of extraction procedure on the yield and biological activities of hydroxychavicol from Piper betle L. leaves

Piper betle Linn is one of the most common ethnomedicinal plants with its extract being popularly used in the modern product to enhance functionality. However, extraction methods always lead to differences in biological activities. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of the extraction methods on the yield and biological activities of hydroxychavicol from P. betle L. extracts and to determine the correlation between the hydroxychavicol content and biological activities of P. betle L. extracts such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. The purity of the hydroxychavicol and its concentration (quantitative) in the crude extracts were also evaluated using a reverse-phase HPLC while GC–MS was employed to determine other components (qualitative). The results showed that only certain extraction procedures gave high yields of hydroxychavicol as well as remarkable biological activities. The chloroform extract following boiling with water (M2) gave the highest percentage of hydroxychavicol content based on the HPLC analysis. M2 and pure hydroxychavicol actively inhibited all the five cancer cell lines studied except A549. M2 showed more effective inhibition activity against MCF 7 with an IC50 of 1.74 ug/mL. M2 extract also showed strong antibacterial activity against all the bacteria strains as well as a strong antifungal activity against Candida albicans. There was, however, a weak correlation between the hydroxychavicol content and the biological activities of P. betle L. extracts. In conclusion, extraction procedures greatly affect the yield and biological activities of hydroxychavicol from P. betle L. The designation of a single compound such as hydroxychavicol as a bioactive chemical marker compound in the P. betle L. extracts, however, is not enough to determine the biological activities of the extract

Analysis of Willingness to Pay for Waste Evacuation in the Central Business District of Jos Town, Plateau State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the public willingness to pay for waste evacuation in the Central Business District (CBD) in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. The study used a structured questionnaires and observation techniques. A total of 220 questionnaires was distributed, 200 were returned and used for final analysis. Charts, percentages and descriptive methods were used to present the results of the research. A Correlation analysis determined the relationship between the effectiveness of waste evacuation and willingness to pay. The result revealed that the public is willing to pay for waste evacuation but some cannot afford the present payment structure which was N 1,000 weekly. Findings showed that 65% were willing to pay N 200 or less weekly, while 20% were willing to pay N 500 weekly for waste evacuation. Government should collaborate with private sectors to come up with ingenious ways of paying for waste evacuation using different modes of payment. Similarly, sanitary inspectors should pay more attention to performance, monitoring and accountability to justify the payments made for waste evacuation in the study area

Determination of Heavy Metals and Physiochemical Parameters in Water Samples from Gold Mining Area of Yar’galma Village

Artisanal mining activities in some rural areas of Zamfara State have resulted into many health issues associated with heavy metals pollution. This study was conducted to analysed the physicochemical properties and level of heavy metals in sample of polluted water by artisanal mining activities of Yar’galma Village of Bukkuyum L.G.A of Zamfara State. The sample were analysed for six 6 heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni Cd and Cr) using Atomic Absorption spectrometer. The heavy metals were detected in the water samples except for Cadmium in sample A and Lead and Cadmium in sample B. The results were compared with the permissible limit of World Health Organization (WHO) and they were all above the limit set by WHO. Finally, due to the high concentration of these heavy metals detected in the samples which may be related to local and illegal mining taking place close to the village, the water is not safe for drinkin

Retrospective Study of Newcastle Disease Cases Diagnosed at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

Newcastle Disease (ND) is a contagious viral disease of birds affecting many domestic and wild avian species. Even thoughvaccines and vaccination schedules are currently being employed in the prevention of the disease, prevention and control arestill a problem in the poultry industry. This study was conducted at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), Ahmadu BelloUniversity (A.B.U), Zaria and the aim was to determine the monthly, yearly and seasonal prevalence of ND diagnosed in theAvian Clinic of the VTH, A.B.U., Zaria. Case record files were collected, studied, and clinically diagnosed cases of ND forfive years (2014-2018) were extracted. Diagnosis of ND was by history of the case, clinical findings and post mortem lesionsobserved. Results showed that out of 1,768 cases of poultry presented, 42.6 % (754 cases) were confirmed via necropsy findingsas ND. The highest number of cases of the disease was in June having a prevalence of 4.98% followed by March with aprevalence of 4.64 % and July with a prevalence of 4.47 %. The annual prevalence was highest in 2014 (14.82 %). The casesof ND were observed to be higher in the pre-rainy season (April to June) with a prevalence of 12.33%. The environmentalstress condition of these periods of the year was likely to be the main reason that potentiate and worsen the occurrence of NDat these periods. Also, stress condition suppresses the immune system of birds making them more susceptible to infectionleading to an outbreak of disease. It is recommended to administer anti-stress before these periods in order to protect the birdsfrom the disease. Keywords: Newcastle disease; Diagnosis; Prevalence; Seaso

Acclimatization Study for Biohydrogen Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) in Continuous-flow System

This research aims to study the acclimatization phase for biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent (POME) by adapting the microorganism to the new environment in continuous-flow system of thermophilic bioreactor. The thermophilic fermentation was continuously loaded with 0.4 L/day of raw POME for 35 days to acclimatize the microorganism until a steady state of biohydrogen production was obtained. The significance effect of acclimatization phase on parameter such as pH, microbial growth, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and alkalinity were also studied besides the production of biogas. This study had found that the thermophilic bioreactor reach its steady state with 1960 mL/d of biogas produced, which consist of 894 ppm of hydrogen composition

Acclimatization Study for Biohydrogen Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) in Continuous-flow System

This research aims to study the acclimatization phase for biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent (POME) by adapting the microorganism to the new environment in continuous-flow system of thermophilic bioreactor. The thermophilic fermentation was continuously loaded with 0.4 L/day of raw POME for 35 days to acclimatize the microorganism until a steady state of biohydrogen production was obtained. The significance effect of acclimatization phase on parameter such as pH, microbial growth, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and alkalinity were also studied besides the production of biogas. This study had found that the thermophilic bioreactor reach its steady state with 1960 mL/d of biogas produced, which consist of 894 ppm of hydrogen composition

Production of palm-based glycol ester over solid acid catalysed esterification of lauric acid via microwave heating

This study involved in maximizing the conversion of lauric acid to glycol ester via esterification with diethylene glycol, aided by calcined Zn-Mg-Al catalyst in a 250-ml reactor using microwave heating. Preliminary catalytic screening involving three types of catalysts (tin (II) oxalate, Amberlyst-15 and calcined Zn-Mg-Al), resulted in the conversion of lauric acid obtained were 65.4%, 31.6% and 95.4% using tin (II) oxalate, Amberlyst-15 and calcined Zn-Mg-Al, respectively. In addition, conversions obtained from the solid acid catalysts appeared to be higher than autocatalytic esterification of only 15.8%. The optimum operating condition for esterification via microwave heating was established at 190 °C, 2:1.3 mol ratio of lauric acid to diethylene glycol with 5% of catalyst dosage at 90 min. Calcined Zn-Mg-Al catalyst under optimised condition gives 98.2% of lauric acid conversion. The recyclability of the catalysts in the esterification of lauric acid with diethylene glycol were also carried out. It shows that calcined Zn-Mg-Al and tin (II) oxalate both can be used for six cycles as compared to Amberlyst-15 catalyst that has lost part of its activity after the third cycle. The microwave heating remains attractive for heating catalytic esterification as it accelerates the reaction speed at shorten period of time from 8 h to 1.5 h as compared to conventional heating