Investigation on tranport and mixing processes of water pollutants: an assessment of effluents from some industries in Kano - Nigeria

Effluents from industries are one of the major factors contributing to the deterioration and pollution of water quality in Nigeria. Analysis and assessment of the transport and mixing processes of water effluents from some of the industries in Kano state-Nigeria are investigated using standard method of analysis and Buck Scientific Model Atomic Absorption Spectrometer for heavy metals. Effluents from the industries are transported from point sources to single stream. The analysis was meant to detect the presence of Na2CO3, Mg, TDS, Ca, Fe, Pb, PO4, K, Na, and , SO4. The pH of the effluents was also evaluated. Water samples were taken at three different points along the streams from each site. The results showed that pH value varied significantly among sampling locations which ranged from 7.0 -13 whereas, the total dissolved solid (TDS) was between 5.12  - 1177ppm. Phosphate level ranges between 1.12 - 4.08mg/l. Carbonate level from all the industries ranges between 4. to 10.8mg/l which far exceed the recommended standard value of 0.007mg/l. Sulphate level ranges between 20.4 - 47.6mg/l. The results showed that sodium level from all the samples ranges between 18.7 - 31.8mg/l while calcium level ranges between 1.3 to 3.2mg/l. It was also observed that the values of lead from all the samples ranges between 0.011- 0.160 ppm while that of magnesium ranges between 12- 41 ppm. Iron level is mostly greater than the 12 recommended range of 0.2mg/l and 0.3mg/l set by WHO and SON respectively. It was observed that the concentration of some of the pollutants increases as the water flow from the point source to the next stage as a result of the mixing processes of effluents coming from different sources while some decreases due to the sedimentation of the pollutants along the way as they are being transported from one point to another.Keywords: Industrial effluents, Water Quality, Mixing Process, Pollution, Physiochemicalparameters, Transport of pollutants

Evaluations of Reactions Cross Section of Radionuclide by Particles Induced Nuclear Reactions using Exifon Code

 In this work the reaction cross section for the production radionuclide of and  isotopesfrom bismuth-208 were calculated using EXIFON code in the energy range from 0 MeV to 30 MeV. The code is based on an analytical model for statistical multistep direct and multistep compound reactions (SMD/SMC model).The results obtained shows that production ofTlis not observed at this energy range because the interaction cross section is zero, and also the excitation functions for the production of Tl-205 and Tl-204 were obtained.

Comparative studies of groundnut oil and sodium chloride as protectants against insect infestation of smoked dried fish in Kainji Lake areas

The effects of groundnut oil and sodium chloride as protectants against insect infestation of dried fish were investigated for a period of 13 weeks. The fish samples were divided into 3 groups, a group was soaked for 10mins in 30% sodium chloride solution (Brine), and the second group was dipped in groundnut oil after smoking while the third group served as control. The samples were kept in different containers in the laboratory at temperature of 28oC and 70% Relative humidity for 13 weeks. Results show that, the fish treated with 30% sodium chloride was effectively protected from insect and moulds compared to sample treated with groundnut oil. The odour and the texture were also more attractive to customers. However, fish treated with groundnut oil was attacked by insects at week 12th and 13th with 6 Maculatus, 4 Necrobia rufipes species and at few mould colonies. The control specimens however was attacked by insects from week 8th to 13th with numerous number of both Necrobia rufipes and Maculatus species as well as mould colonies showing as early as from the 6th week. The results proved that sodium chloride is more effective than groundnut oil for long period of storage

An analysis of air pollution at some industrial areas of Kano using the AERMOD Model

The effect of pollution on air quality has been a concern for mankind for a long time. In some cases the problem is essentially one of local emissions in a given urban area leading to an adverse effect on air quality in that same area. However, in the general case, the problem is more diverse in that the problem of air pollution has multiplicity effects beyond the point source and these effects are dynamic in nature. Such effects are usually evaluated using dynamical equations. In this study, a comprehensive review on effect of air polluting variables was described on the basis of evaluation of formulation equations of the American Meteorological Society and U.S. Environmental protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD view 9.6.5). The AERMOD model was also used to simulate the dispersion and deposition of the hourly and daily H2S and NO2 concentrations from two domains: Challawa and Sharada industrial estates /areas respectively. The AERMOD model evaluation showed that there was good correlation between the modelled and observed H2S concentration for the daily and hourly comparison at Challawa  (0.53 and 0.91 respectively) but the daily and hourly comparison of H2S at Sharada (0.13 and 0.46 respectively) was seen to drop indicating poor correlation and model skill. However, model evaluation of NO2 shows poor agreements and model skill at Challawa as well as daily comparison at Sharada. However, the modelling shows good agreement (R2= 0.64) in the trend for the hourly value modelled versus observed concentrations at Sharada. Moreover, the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for the two pollutants (H2S and NO2) at all the two domains indicates highly accurate result for both daily and hourly concentrations. AERMOD software can therefore be used to estimate the dispersion and deposition of the pollutants at some domains considered in this study. Key Words: AERMOD model, Air pollutant, Industrial sources, Dispersion and Depositio

GIS‑assisted flood‑risk potential mapping of Ilorin and its environs, Kwara state, Nigeria

DATA AVAILABITY STATEMENT: The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.The incessant reoccurrence of flooding disasters across Nigeria has mandated an urgent outlook on food-risk management techniques. Ilorin and its environs have suffered immensely from annual food reoccurrence. This study aims to assess food risk within Ilorin and its environs and proffer adequate food mitigation strategies that governments and policymakers can adopt to placate future flooding events within the state. Satellite imagery data were acquired and analyzed for food-risk assessment of the area. Ten highly influential food causative factors were synergized using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making techniques in this research; they are Land Surface Temperature, Elevation, Soil Moisture Index, and Distance to Stream, Drainage Density, Stream Power Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Land Use Land Cover, Slope, and Topographic Wetness Index. Findings showed that approximately 47.2% of the study area had low food risk, while moderate and high food-risk zones occupied 33.5% and 19.29%, respectively. Most parts of Ilorin and its environs are safe from food disasters; only about one-quarter of the total area under investigation lies in the high food-risk zones; these areas mostly fall within the shores of major streams, rivers, and dams within the state. A plot of previous food cases in the state placed the affected areas in the high and moderate zones of food risk, confirming the efficacy of geospatial techniques in food-risk assessment. It is hoped that this study's findings and recommendations can be implemented to prevent future devastating flooding occurrences within the state.The University of the Free State.https://link.springer.com/journal/41976GeologySDG-06:Clean water and sanitationSDG-11:Sustainable cities and communitiesSDG-13:Climate actionSDG-15:Life on lan

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women in Kilifi, Kenya from March 2020 to March 2022

BackgroundSeroprevalence studies are an alternative approach to estimating the extent of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the evolution of the pandemic in different geographical settings. We aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from March 2020 to March 2022 in a rural and urban setting in Kilifi County, Kenya.MethodsWe obtained representative random samples of stored serum from a pregnancy cohort study for the period March 2020 to March 2022 and tested for antibodies against the spike protein using a qualitative SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kit (Wantai, total antibodies). All positive samples were retested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, NCP, qualitative, IgG) and anti-spike protein antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, QuantiVac; quantitative, IgG).ResultsA total of 2,495 (of 4,703 available) samples were tested. There was an overall trend of increasing seropositivity from a low of 0% [95% CI 0–0.06] in March 2020 to a high of 89.4% [95% CI 83.36–93.82] in Feb 2022. Of the Wantai test-positive samples, 59.7% [95% CI 57.06–62.34] tested positive by the Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 NCP test and 37.4% [95% CI 34.83–40.04] tested positive by the Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac test. No differences were observed between the urban and rural hospital but villages adjacent to the major highway traversing the study area had a higher seroprevalence.ConclusionAnti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence rose rapidly, with most of the population exposed to SARS-CoV-2 within 23 months of the first cases. The high cumulative seroprevalence suggests greater population exposure to SARS-CoV-2 than that reported from surveillance data

Changes in some haematological parameters of pubertal Yankasa rams fed graded levels of dietary protein using cotton seed and palm kernel cake

The effects of graded levels of dietary protein on some haematological parameters in pubertal Yankasa rams were studied. They were randomly divided into three treatment groups (A, B and C). Groups A, B and C received 10%, 15% and 20% crude protein respectively. All rams were fed a basal diet of hay (Digitaria spp) ad-libitum and given a supplement ration of concentrate mixture at 2% body weight/day. Blood was collected once weekly via jugular venepuncture into heparinised test-tubes, and transported to the laboratory for determination of red blood cell counts, packed cell volume, white blood cell counts and total protein for twelve weeks. The overall mean red blood cell values obtained were 4.2 ± 0.1 ×106 μl, 5.2 ± 0.1 ×106 μl and 5.06 ± 0.1 ×106 μl, for groups A, B and C respectively. The difference between values obtained for groups B and C were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Mean packed cell volumes obtained in this study revealed that rams fed 15% crude protein had significantly (P < 0.05) higher values (31.3 ± 0.9 %) than those fed 10% (25.9± 0.7 %) but similar to those fed 20% (30.33 ± 0.56 %) crude protein. There were no significant (P > 0.05)differences in mean white blood cell counts and total protein concentrations between all groups of animals fed 10% CP. Feeding rams diets  containing 15 % CP (cotton seed cake and palm kernel cake) gave better values in terms of packed cell volume and red blood cell counts, than feeding diets containing 10% and 20% C.P. While graded levels of dietary protein was shown to affect packed cell volume and total protein  concentration, it had no significant effect on red blood cell and white blood cell counts. Keywords: Haematological Parameters; Protein diet; Pubertal; Yankasa rams

Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index for 195 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in seven countries, from 1990 to 2016. Methods Drawing from established methods and updated estimates from GBD 2016, we used 32 causes from which death should not occur in the presence of effective care to approximate personal health-care access and quality by location and over time. To better isolate potential effects of personal health-care access and quality from underlying risk factor patterns, we risk-standardised cause-specific deaths due to non-cancers by location-year, replacing the local joint exposure of environmental and behavioural risks with the global level of exposure. Supported by the expansion of cancer registry data in GBD 2016, we used mortality-to-incidence ratios for cancers instead of risk-standardised death rates to provide a stronger signal of the effects of personal health care and access on cancer survival. We transformed each cause to a scale of 0–100, with 0 as the first percentile (worst) observed between 1990 and 2016, and 100 as the 99th percentile (best); we set these thresholds at the country level, and then applied them to subnational locations. We applied a principal components analysis to construct the HAQ Index using all scaled cause values, providing an overall score of 0–100 of personal health-care access and quality by location over time. We then compared HAQ Index levels and trends by quintiles on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary measure of overall development. As derived from the broader GBD study and other data sources, we examined relationships between national HAQ Index scores and potential correlates of performance, such as total health spending per capita. Findings In 2016, HAQ Index performance spanned from a high of 97·1 (95% UI 95·8–98·1) in Iceland, followed by 96·6 (94·9–97·9) in Norway and 96·1 (94·5–97·3) in the Netherlands, to values as low as 18·6 (13·1–24·4) in the Central African Republic, 19·0 (14·3–23·7) in Somalia, and 23·4 (20·2–26·8) in Guinea-Bissau. The pace of progress achieved between 1990 and 2016 varied, with markedly faster improvements occurring between 2000 and 2016 for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia, whereas several countries in Latin America and elsewhere saw progress stagnate after experiencing considerable advances in the HAQ Index between 1990 and 2000. Striking subnational disparities emerged in personal health-care access and quality, with China and India having particularly large gaps between locations with the highest and lowest scores in 2016. In China, performance ranged from 91·5 (89·1–93·6) in Beijing to 48·0 (43·4–53·2) in Tibet (a 43·5-point difference), while India saw a 30·8-point disparity, from 64·8 (59·6–68·8) in Goa to 34·0 (30·3–38·1) in Assam. Japan recorded the smallest range in subnational HAQ performance in 2016 (a 4·8-point difference), whereas differences between subnational locations with the highest and lowest HAQ Index values were more than two times as high for the USA and three times as high for England. State-level gaps in the HAQ Index in Mexico somewhat narrowed from 1990 to 2016 (from a 20·9-point to 17·0-point difference), whereas in Brazil, disparities slightly increased across states during this time (a 17·2-point to 20·4-point difference). Performance on the HAQ Index showed strong linkages to overall development, with high and high-middle SDI countries generally having higher scores and faster gains for non-communicable diseases. Nonetheless, countries across the development spectrum saw substantial gains in some key health service areas from 2000 to 2016, most notably vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, national performance on the HAQ Index was positively associated with higher levels of total health spending per capita, as well as health systems inputs, but these relationships were quite heterogeneous, particularly among low-to-middle SDI countries. Interpretation GBD 2016 provides a more detailed understanding of past success and current challenges in improving personal health-care access and quality worldwide. Despite substantial gains since 2000, many low-SDI and middle-SDI countries face considerable challenges unless heightened policy action and investments focus on advancing access to and quality of health care across key health services, especially non-communicable diseases. Stagnating or minimal improvements experienced by several low-middle to high-middle SDI countries could reflect the complexities of re-orienting both primary and secondary health-care services beyond the more limited foci of the Millennium Development Goals. Alongside initiatives to strengthen public health programmes, the pursuit of universal health coverage hinges upon improving both access and quality worldwide, and thus requires adopting a more comprehensive view—and subsequent provision—of quality health care for all populations. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation